Constellations
by Vampyre Heartbreak
Summary: AU. Boy meets girl. Girl is beautiful. Boy doesn't care. They proceed to squabble over a chair like a couple of freakin' children. -SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, ShikaIno, KakaAnko, AsuKure- Based loosely on Twilight... very loosely.
1. Ursa Minor

Yes yes, what am I do writing another story when I already have two unfinished ones? But this is just to hold me over until I can get to my other stories currently saved on my laptop that has a broken USB port. Whoops, I'd forgotten about that. So until I can find a way to get all of the stories from the laptop onto my PC, I'm going to be working on this one. It's based lightly on Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, but with some major differences:

- Sasuke will not be the vampire. In this story, Sakura will be.  
- Sasuke will **not** be Sakura's _la tua cantante_. (Did I spell that right?) At all, ever.  
- No werewolves. Period. Which also means no love triangle. I think. I' not planning on one at the moment.  
- The Volturi do exist, but won't play a major role yet. It won't be Aro, Caius, and Marcus but will be OCs of my own creation. They won't be in this part, and if I decide to do a sequel, they might appear there. Not too sure yet.  
- All of the pairings are set in stone. I'm not changing them at all.  
- Do remember that this is an AU, so therefore the characters' personality might be altered in order to fit the storyline better.  
- It may seem like I'm rushing the romance, but I'm not. It's necessary.  
- I will not be bringing any of the Twilight characters into this story or making any references to them.  
- Everything that signals a vampire in Twilight is here. I'm not adding or changing anything. So sparkly skin, pale skin, not sleeping, etc: It will be in here.

I think that's all for the time-being. If I think of more, I'll post them on my profile, which is where I post frequent updates.

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, or Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am merely using them for my twisted amusement.

* * *

"Excuse me."

At the lyrical voice, black eyes detached from the textbook he had been diligently studying and followed the line of open-toed black boots up along the slender, but rather pale, legs to the light jean skirt that molded to sculpted thighs to the black jacket over a white tanktop that revealed a figure that could have made a homophobe turned lesbian before landing on the face which made him blink in surprise. She was astoundingly beautiful with full lips the exact same shade as the rest of her skin, high cheekbones and a small, pert nose, and pale pink hair currently shorn into a short spiky style around her face. Her currently irritated, forest green eyes met his black ones, surrounded by thick, ridiculously long black eyelashes that would probably tangle at the edges if she were to blink too hard.

"What?" He inquired blankly. Her eyes narrowed once more, before she spoke once more. Her voice was lyrical and soft, though currently hard with agitation. He knew that she was new, probably having moved in while he was away on a 'family vacation.' He definitely would've remembered that face.

"You're in my seat."

Sasuke gestured airily at the other vacant seats. "So pick another one."

"But Kurenai-sensei told me specifically to sit in this one."

The handsome man arched an eyebrow arrogantly. "So?"

The pink-haired woman sighed, and moved to sit right next to him, glowering pointedly at him, which he promptly ignored. Her movements were nothing short of silent, as she removed the textbooks from her backpack and set them on her desk. Deciding to ignore the girl, Sasuke returned to his Psychology book stubbornly. He had been gone for a few days, and had to make up for what the class had covered during that time. Only a few moments had passed before the blonde hurricane that was his best friend came hurtling into the room with a loud, boisterous laugh. Naruto immediately moved to sit on the other side of him, throwing his books onto the desk haphazardly. "Teme, I didn't know you would be back so soon!" Naruto greeted enthusiastically.

"Hn." Sasuke merely grunted, trying to focus on the book. Apparently sensing that his best friend wasn't in the mood to converse, Naruto turned to the pink-haired mystery on his other side eagerly.

"Sakura-chan, what're you doing sitting next to teme? His ego will smother you to death!" Naruto mock-whispered to 'Sakura', causing her to start and then let out a soft trilling laugh. She smiled at the blonde-haired boy charmingly, revealing even, pearl-white teeth. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the book, ignoring the two of them stubbornly.

"It's no problem, Naruto." She responded softly. "I have practice working with stubborn assholes." Even the insult sounded charming in her musical voice. Naruto laughed loudly, as the black-haired teen gritted his teeth against the urge to snap at her as his irritation mounted. The once-silent classroom grew steadily louder as students trickled into the large room. The girl looked up sharply at a longhaired blonde waving frantically with a tall, lean, brooding man right behind her. "Excuse me for one moment." She smiled disarmingly, enough to make the loudmouthed Naruto tongue-tied as she got to her feet and walked over. Sasuke glanced up as she left, his onyx eyes landing on the blonde, who, if possible, was even more beautiful than Sakura. She had cobalt blue eyes framed by thick eyelashes and full lips and white-blonde hair currently pulled back into a high ponytail with some of her bangs hiding one of her eyes. She wore an attention-grabbing violet outfit that revealed ridiculously long legs and a figure that made even Sasuke blink.

"Sakura-chan is wonderful, isn't she?" Naruto's tone was definitely admiring. Sasuke merely grunted again, having given up on reading. "Oh, right! You don't know about them!" _Them? _Sasuke wondered idly to himself, briefly, before shoving the thought away. "They moved here the day after you left. There's…eight of them I think. The Hatakes. The father, Kakashi, is in the military I think, and they move often. The mom, Anko, is a stay-at-home mom. I think." Sasuke found himself studying the three people once more, listening with half an ear to Naruto's loud rambling. He hadn't really noticed beforehand, but even with the boots, Sakura was rather short. "I haven't seen them all, but I doubt any of them are as pretty as Sakura-chan is!" He exclaimed, his voice lifting slightly.

"_Dobe. _Shut. Up." Sasuke finally growled, turning to glower spitefully at the irritating blonde. Used to the Uchiha's sullenness by now, Naruto merely shrugged the glare off and shut up as their raven-haired teacher entered the room. Sarutobi Kurenai, while being a kind and diligent teacher, had grown exponentially hormonal since she had become pregnant and even Naruto's minuscule self-preservation instincts told him to keep his mouth shut. Sakura returned to her seat, sliding into the uncomfortable desk easily. The blonde she had been talking to took a seat near the back, dragging the ruggedly handsome male along with her. Sasuke made a side note that, despite their beauty, all of the students shied away from them, giving them a wide berth.

The rest of the class period passed in silence, and Sasuke quickly found himself sitting across from the whirlwind that was Naruto in lunch. The raven-haired man ignored the blonde's incessant chattering, as his other friends slid into their seats. Inuzuka Kiba just grinned broadly, and immediately sucker-punched Naruto in the side of his skull earning a loud yell. Aburame Shino, who was even quieter than the Uchiha, slid in next and immediately opened his book on insects and ignored all of them stonily. Rock Lee was next in his green spandex and loud boast about the youthfulness of his friends, followed by Gaara and finally Kankuro. Their table was quickly filled with loudness, mostly between Kiba, Naruto, and Lee, and Sasuke bit back a sigh. Almost against his will, he started scanning the large, rather noisy, cafeteria for the pink hair from first period. He found it quickly, along with five others.

There was the blonde and brunette from before, though he didn't recognize the oak brown hair pulled into two buns atop the girl's red and dressed in Chinese-styled clothing. He couldn't see her face. The waist-length brown-black hair of the person next to the buns-wearing girl first led Sasuke to believe it was another girl, but a subtle shift in position and he caught a glimpse of an Adam's apple. The blonde from before was next to him, and he bypassed her easily. On the other side of the table was Sakura, plus the sullen brunette from before and a shy, long violet-haired girl dressed in baggy clothing. He found it odd that all of their skin was the exact shade of pale, even paler than him, the albino.

He was violently knocked out of his thoughts when the shaggy brown hair of Kiba filled his vision and the dog-lover crashed onto him. Sasuke grunted in surprise, and shoved the brunette off. "Whatcha looking at, Uchiha?" The Inuzuka asked brashly. Then he followed his line of sight and grinned roguishly, revealing pointed incisors that Sasuke knew for a fact he sharpened with a nail file. "Ah, the Hatakes. I can see why. That Sakura chick is a total babe. 'Course, I prefer blondes. Too bad she's already taken." The dog-lover sighed sadly.

"Hn." Apparently, the brunette took this as a cue to go on as he barreled on, lowering his voice theatrically.

"The blonde is apparently dating that sullen brunette. What's his name, again?"

"Shikamaru." Shino butted in briefly, lifting his head up to face Kiba momentarily before lowering it to his books once more. Kiba snapped his fingers.

"Right, Shikamaru. That's it. And the buns-wearing chick—Wonton, Tonton?— is with the longhaired man."

"Her name is _Tenten._" Shino butted in once more, now sounding vaguely irritated. Kiba just waved a hand dismissively.

"-What_ever_. Anyways, apparently Sakura and that violet-haired chick are the only single ones. Bummer." Sasuke shook his friend off of him forcibly, and grunted once more. Shrugging, Kiba leaned back into his seat and almost immediately started an argument with Naruto over something trivial. Sasuke forced his thoughts away from the girl and turned back to eating his lunch with slightly more fervor than before. Glancing at the girl briefly, he saw that she was looking at him, her eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. Immediately upon seeing that he saw her, her features smoothed and she offered him a brief, lopsided grin before turning back around quickly.

* * *

"Get anything?" Neji asked the blonde-haired girl, earning a nod shortly. Ino fiddled around with the apple on her plate, her thin blonde eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Across from her, Sakura propped her chin onto her hand and studied her closest friend keenly. Her tray, consisting of pizza and a bottle of VitaminWater, was untouched in front of her.

"It's difficult. I can read it, but I have to struggle to do so. It's strange." Ino tried to explain, earning a nod from the pink-haired girl. Sakura knew how easy reading minds came to Ino, and for it to be difficult for her was a feat in its self. "I can only get bits and pieces. He's intrigued by Forehead, and glances at her a lot. He doesn't really think much about the rest of us. He's too keen for my tastes." The blonde continued, earning a quirked eyebrow from the girl. Hinata let out a soft smile before looking downward meekly.

"I think he has a crush." Tenten broke in with a grin, earning an eye roll from the younger girl. Shikamaru let out an unneeded breath in a soft sigh, though they all heard it clearly, and muttered a low 'troublesome.'

"Shut up, Ten-chan. No one asked you." Sakura shot back playfully, sticking her tongue out. Neji ignored their playful banter, speaking seriously.

"We'll inform Kakashi and Anko of this when we return home. Otherwise, Ino, keep an eye on him, and Sakura stay away." Sakura mock-saluted the longhaired man, rolling her eyes at him dramatically. Neji was the oldest of all of them, already close to seventy-five years old, despite having been bitten at eighteen.

"Yes sir, bastard sir!" She chirped cheerfully, grinning at the muffled snickers of Tenten. Neji narrowed his opaque eyes at the cheerful girl, shooting a disdainful look at his chortling mate out of the corner of his eyes. He saw Sakura blink more times than normal and reminded her to re-do her contacts before class. She waved a hand at him dismissively before getting into her feet in a fluid motion and picking up her tray. She dumped the untouched food out into the trash before almost dancing out of the cafeteria, with Ino and Shikamaru close behind her. Her crisp mind recalled the exact details of the school's layout, and she headed to the nearest bathroom. After making sure that it was clear, Sakura slipped into it and paused in front of the mirror.

With one more blink, the lenses in her eyes disintegrated and she caught a brief glimpse of dark tawny eyes, reminding her that she needed to hunt soon, before she rooted around for another container for lenses. Neji had suggested the idea of all of them wearing different color lenses to make them blend in more. She got stuck with green, and she despised the stupid things. Her eyes kept seeing the microscopic scratches of the lenses and wanting to focus on them instead of anything else. Muttering a low curse, the pink-haired girl found one and popped them in. With ease, she slid them on and blinked rapidly to re-adjust to them before stowing the container away and walking out of the bathroom. Quietly humming along to Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, she readjusted her bag and headed off for the library.

* * *

Sasuke stepped out of his last class of the day, glad that he had none of his friends in Advanced Chemistry. Neatly placing his homework assignments into his messenger bag, he headed off to the parking lot, where Naruto had more than likely skipped last period and was currently waiting to give him a ride home. He exited the main building and saw the bright yellow hair of his best friend leaning against the hood of his crappy car. He paused for a brief moment in his walk over there when he saw the almost garish shade of pink flash across his vision. He squinted and realized that it was indeed Sakura walking towards a dark blue convertible with the buns-wearing girl and the violet-haired one. Shaking his head, Sasuke continued to walk over to Naruto and kicked him in the shin to get his attention upon arriving.

"Ow! What the hell, teme!" Naruto shot up, automatically yelling as he glowered at the offending male. Sasuke merely grunted and slid into the car. The locks were busted on Naruto's car, and it had so many problems he had lost track. Complaining about 'mean best friends' and abuse, Naruto jumped into the driver's seat and started the car. "By the way, look at this!" Naruto twisted the key out of the ignition and held it up. Sasuke stared blankly.

The car was still running.

_What the hell? _Was the only thought his normally intelligent mind seemed capable of spitting out, as Naruto laughed loudly and stuck the key back into the ignition before jerkily pulling out of his parking spot.

"Told you this was a piece of crap car." Naruto told him around his laughter.

"I already _knew _that, dobe." Sasuke muttered sullenly, pointedly glowering at the missing window handle and feeling the practically nonexistent suspension. They passed the convertible and his eyes met Sakura's tawny ones briefly. He blinked before she looked away quickly.

Hadn't her eyes been green before?

* * *

End Chapter One.

Sorry if its a little on the short side. I was originally planning on making it longer, but then I decided that this was like the perfect place to end it.

Also keep in mind that I have a weird sense of humor, so this may not be funny to you. I try to put humor in my stories, but I don't always succeed.

Any questions or comments? Let me know. This story is very much in the 'beta' mode, which just means that depending on how it does, I may or may not keep it up on here.

And try not to compare this story to Twilight. I'd rather not gain a complex.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Ursa Major

Chapter two! This one is longer than the first chapters, I swear.

Nothing else really to add, I guess.

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, or Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am merely using them for my twisted amusement.

* * *

Sasuke had to smirk when he noticed Sakura sitting in the seat he had claimed for himself the day before. Her dark green eyes slid over to him, her lips quirking in what was obviously a challenge. He strolled over lazily and paused in front of her. She met his gaze steadily, arching an eyebrow in a silent question. Her books were in front of her neatly, and he couldn't help the fact that he gave her a quick glance over. She was wearing black flare jeans towards that hugged her hips, with a pair of sandals on her feet. A burgundy shirt was underneath the same jacket from before. As before, she wore no makeup but was beautiful enough to have the spandex-wearing Lee proclaiming something about her beautiful youthfulness at the doorway. "Hey stranger." She greeted casually.

"You're in my seat." Sasuke told her simply, kicking the leg of the desk lightly to prove his point. She shrugged, waving a hand at the several empty desks in the large classroom dismissively.

"So pick another one." She challenged, channeling his words from the day before with a slight smirk on. Sasuke stared at her, half-exasperated. Sakura made a show of getting comfortable in the chair, crossing her legs at the ankle and staring at him with a defiant gleam in her dark eyes. "So whatcha gonna do, pretty boy?"

_Pretty boy? _He repeated to himself for a moment, wondering if she wanted him to take that as an insult or compliment, before shaking his head. "Move."

Her eyes gleamed. "Make me." Sasuke stared at her, nonplussed by the silent challenge she was exuding. Deciding that it was too early in the morning for this, he merely sat down next to her. He pointedly ignored the chortles that came from the small girl at her victory, as he removed his psychology book. Due to Naruto, he hadn't gotten much reading done and was even further behind than normal. Faint music coming from his right told him that Sakura had turned on her mp3 player. Glancing over briefly, he looked back quickly.

Holy crap, was that an iPhone?

Discarding the thought, he turned back to his book. Sakura, he noticed, was doing anything but study as she twiddled her thumbs and hummed along to whatever song she was listening to. "What song are you listening to?" He mentally kicked himself when the question slipped out of his mouth, but she was able to hear him away and glanced over. She removed one of the earbuds from her ears and offered it to him. Sasuke stared at it for a moment before taking it and popping it into the shell of his ear. The loud beat that followed wasn't one he was familiar with, and he glanced over at the girl curiously. "It's by a band called the 69 Eyes. The song's titled, 'Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.'" She informed him immediately.

He nodded once before turning back to the book. After a few seconds, he made a note to look for the band in the future. Naruto came hurtling into the room shortly afterwards, and Sasuke handed the earbud back to the pinkette before Naruto could sever the actual cord with his enthusiasm. "Hey, teme!" The spiky-haired blonde chirped cheerfully, thumping his stuff onto the desk on the other side of Sasuke. Said Uchiha grunted in greeting. "Sakura-chan, you're looking pretty today." He turned his attention to the girl, who looked up and smiled absently before looking back down at her hands. "I met someone yesterday!" he exclaimed, turning to his so-called best friend. "She's really pretty, with long purple hair-"

"You mean Hinata? She mentioned you yesterday once we were home." Sakura cut in politely. Naruto nodded frantically, beaming.

"Yeah, that's her. Hinata-chan is really pretty. Prettier than you, Sakura-chan. I'm afraid you missed your chance with me." He told her lightly, earning a laugh.

"Darn, and here I was planning on jumping your bones once school was out." She returned jokingly. Between them, Sasuke choked on his spit. Naruto walloped him on the back absently, his sky blue eyes focused sternly on the pink-haired girl.

"Really?" Naruto asked her eagerly. She made a mental note to remember that sarcasm flew straight over his head.

"Don't go forgetting about Hinata now, Naruto." She wagged a finger at him playfully. The loudmouthed blonde just grinned bashfully. "And if it soothes your battered pride any, Hinata was practically a tomato when she was talking about you." She was lying through her teeth naturally, but Naruto didn't need to know that.

"In a good way?" Naruto asked anxiously.

"In a good way." She confirmed, laughing slightly. Just then the bell rang and a wave of students tumbled into the classroom or risk being late. Kurenai walked in last, looking particularly irritable with one hand placed idly on the slight bump on her stomach, and immediately began writing the day's assignment on the board behind her desk before telling them briskly to get started. The entire class was silent, sensing that now was not a good time to try and get on her nerves. Sasuke made a mental note about Sakura's blonde friend and the taller brunette being absent as he dutifully jotted down his homework into his daily planner and started to work immediately.

The class period passed quickly and he soon found himself in his second period, Advanced Government. Shiranui Genma was a well-known womanizer and preferred to spend his time chasing after the female students and teachers than actually teaching anything. The only thing keeping him from losing his job was the fact that whenever he was forced to teach something, he did a pretty good job. Sasuke slid into his seat near the back, gritting his teeth when one or two of his fangirls slid in next to him and battered their eyelashes at them. Apparently whatever made the other students avoid the Hatakes (and ultimately him) like the plague was only effective when they were in the general vicinity.

"Hey there, Sasuke-kun." One of them, a loudmouthed brunette cooed from beside him, earning a disdainful grunt. "Are you doing anything later?" Knowing this was leading up to her eventually asking him out, Sasuke remained silent and tilted his head away from her. The board on his left, full of announcements and a calendar, was suddenly particularly interesting. Apparently, his blatant denial of her existence didn't deter her, as she continued to lean closer to him and smiled tantalizingly at him. "Sasuke-kuuun." The coo was definitely getting closer to sultry and Sasuke gritted his teeth against the effort to say something rude to her. Naruto would inevitably find out and he already had a headache beginning to throb in his temples.

"Bitch. He's my Sasuke-kun." The other one, this one a blonde, snapped, suddenly whirling around and glaring at the other girl through thick black glasses. Their eyes locked in a glare, and Sasuke inwardly heaved a sigh of relief at the fact their attention was no longer focused on him. The two fangirls started to argue over who he actually belonged to, before a soft, but definitely amused, voice broke into their argument.

"Actually, I'm vaguely positive that he can decide for himself who he really belongs to." Sasuke recognized the voice and looked up. The other two girls were about to say something rude, but paused immediately when they saw who it was. Sakura stood, looking for everything like a china doll, with a thin pink eyebrow cocked upward. A slight smile showed at how amused she was. "Excuse me, may I sit here?" She asked Blondie politely, who stammered a confirmation and jumped to her feet. The brunette followed immediately without even glancing at Sasuke. They sat as far away as they could from her, as she turned her dark(-er. Hadn't they been slightly lighter the day before?) green eyes onto Sasuke, glimmering in amusement. "That happen often?"

Sasuke nodded. "Every god_damn_ed day."

"So tell them to get lost."

"I tried. But apparently that's a turn-on."

She lifted her eyebrow again. "They find anti-socialness attractive?" That was definitely an insult—Sasuke could feel it. Instead, he just grunted and changed the subject. He was remarkably chatty about the pink-haired anomaly.

"What're you doing here?" She shrugged, removing her books from her backpack and kicking the bag under her desk in an unbelievably graceful motion.

"I had a schedule change. The class I was in, I realized I had already taken but was under a different name. It took until today for them to change it for me." She explained, leaning forward and resting her chin on the palm of her hand.

"Aa." He remained quiet, still stinging from the anti-social comment from before.

Shrugging, and apparently not offended, she removed her iPhone from the pocket in her bag and turned it on in one swift motion. As before, she offered one of the earbuds to him and after a moment he accepted it, placing it in his ear quickly. As before, there was a loud beat that took him a moment to recognize. "AFI?" He asked, turning to her. She nodded, beaming.

_What's the hook, the twist with in this verbose mystery?_

He recognized the lyric as being from 'Miss Murder' and listened to it quietly before Kiba came tumbling into the room and immediately came walking over. He paused for a moment when he saw Sakura sitting next to his raven-haired friend, and then studied the earbud they were sharing before grinning mischievously and continuing to walk over. "Hey, buddy." The brunette greeted flippantly, grinning at Sakura out of the corner of his eye, who completely missed the smile. On the other hand, Sasuke didn't miss the smile and its implications and his eyes narrowed slightly. It was still amazing to him that the brash Inuzuka had managed to make it into the Advanced Government. Kiba sat down in front of Sasuke and immediately spun around with a devious smile curving the corner of his lips.

Sasuke glared. "What?"

"Nothing.." Kiba shrugged with a distinct air of nonchalance. "So, having fun?" Sasuke flashed him a blank look, unconsciously adjusting the earbud in his ear as it started to slip. In silent response, Kiba tilted his head in Sakura's direction, a devious gleam in his hazel eyes. Sasuke glowered at him through narrowed eyes.

"We're just listening to music." He informed him haughtily.

"Don't piss on my leg and tell me its raining, Sasuke." Kiba merely responded, smirking insufferably. Sasuke stared at him for a moment, thankful that Genma chose to walk in then, several minutes late. After that, Kiba was forced to be quiet as Genma took role. Sasuke was hardly surprised that when their teacher reached Sakura's name at the bottom of the list, he looked up and upon seeing her face, immediately became the infamous womanizer everyone knew he was. Sakura merely smiled and looked away politely while discreetly plucking her earbud from Sasuke's ear and hiding her iPhone away before it could be taken away. After an airy comment of 'feel free to do the work on the board' from Genma, most of the class started talking loudly amongst themselves, with only two doing work, discreetly listening to music.

When the class period was over, Sakura got to her feet swiftly and abruptly dropped a neatly folded note onto Sasuke's desk as she drifted out the door. Curious, Sasuke picked up the note and unfolded it.

_Eat lunch with me today._

It was a command, not a question, and Sasuke shrugged, shoving the note into his pocket. He rose to his feet and gathered his books before heading off to his next class and pretending like Kiba wasn't practically breathing down his neck.

In the cafeteria, Sasuke immediately saw that Sakura had staked out a table alone, with her family eating at a different table. As of the day before, a tray of untouched food sat primly in front of her. Her dark eyes found his dark ones quickly and she waved briefly. He headed over, ignoring Naruto's loud 'teme' and quickly slid in across from her. "Hey." She greeted immediately in a blasé tone of voice.

"Hn." She rolled her eyes at his short answer and flicked a fry at his head in a childish display. "Why'd you want me to sit with you?" The question popped out without him meaning it to. That seemed to be happening a lot, and he made a mental vow to work on it. He was getting way too chatty for his tastes. The pinkette merely shrugged and fiddled around with the fries on her plate, shooting him a surprisingly shy smile. "I doubt your family's very happy." She laughed, her green eyes flickering over his shoulder at where the rest of her family were staring intently at them. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, but when she caught him studying her face, it immediately smoothed as she smiled at him.

"Sorry about that. They're not too happy about it but they'll get over it." She skillfully avoided his first question. Sasuke nodded, not fooled and merely asked again, this time slightly impatiently. She grinned and then shrugged sheepishly. "You intrigue me. I don't know." Sasuke stared for a few minutes, unsure of how to react. She caught him, and stiffened defiantly. "What?" She demanded. He just shook his head, picking up an apple and biting into it absently. He _intrigued _her? Who used that word in normal conversation anymore? He studied her face intently as he chewed on the bite of fruit.

"I intrigue you?" He clarified, earning a nod and exasperated look. "Why?"

"Your prissiness." She answered bluntly with a wry grin present, and he stared at her uncomprehendingly, ceasing his chewing. She took this as a cue to continue, and barreled on. "I mean, seriously: your hair. How long before school starts do you have to get up to get it like that. I mean, I honestly don't believe that you wake up and it's just like there." She told him, earning a low laugh from the table where her family was, almost like they could hear their conversation. "Unless you have a really bad hair stylist, and you just never brush it. Then that, I suppose I could believe. With proof." She amended slowly, tapping her chin with a manicured finger as she stared about two inches above Sasuke's head as she thought. Sasuke just continued to stare, unsure of how to respond.

She snapped out of her reverie and smiled charmingly at him. "But I digress. So, I answered one of your questions. Answer one of mine." Sasuke nodded slowly, wary of the question would be but curious all the while. As if able to sense his wariness, she smiled charmingly once more, revealing a quick flash of white teeth. "You don't shy away from me while most people do. Your friend included. Why?" She inclined her head in the direction of Naruto to make sure he knew who she was referring to, her dark green eyes narrowing slightly as she studied his face intently.

Sasuke was taken aback by the question; off all the questions he had expected, that wasn't one of them. His face didn't shift in expression as he thought for a moment before shrugging. "Not sure. I seem to gravitate to you without actually meaning to. The dobe, I can only imagine." Sakura's face began to look slightly troubled at this, but immediately smoothed out into the distant, pleasant façade she fell into often. Her eyes flickered over his shoulder again to her family, and remained there for a few seconds before flicking back to his face with a calculating look to them that made him nervous. She didn't seem happy with his answer.

"Is that so?" She mused to herself, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she continued to study him intently. The corners of her lips dipped slightly in displeasure. The bell, shrill and loud, came over then and she got abruptly to her feet. "I'll see you tomorrow, Sasuke." She had left off the polite suffix to his name, as she waved at him politely before dumping her untouched food into the trash and almost dancing out of the room. Sasuke shook his head and got to his feet before trashing his own food and slouching off to his next class. Naruto immediately found him and began asking him rapid-fire questions about his 'date' with Sakura.

Yeah, right.

* * *

Later that night, Sakura found herself chanting 'this is not good, this is not good' under her breath while perched precariously in a tall tree in their backyard, tawny eyes focused on the setting sun and the picture it created absently. When Neji had confronted her after her lunch with Sasuke, he had been furious but had only been able to give her a sampling of it at school. Once they were home, he had unleashed his full fury on her, with Anko right behind him. She had been warned to stay away from the black-haired boy, but had found herself inescapably drawn to the sullen teenager.

Just like, her quick mind hastened to remind her, he had told her earlier that day.

The pink-haired beauty frowned severely, muttering another 'this is not good' as she swung her foot idly. She was currently perched carefully several stories high in a tall oak tree they had in their backyard, having decided to get some time away from her _doting _family, with one leg hanging downward with another propped up against her chest and her arm resting on it with the other in her lap. Ino had more than likely read her mind and informed everyone else, as nobody came looking for her. Tenten was more than likely trying to calm down the irate Neji. Kakashi and Anko were probably discussing the matter in their bedroom.

Her pink eyebrows creased as she thought of her next move. She really should've stayed away from the black-haired boy but it seemed difficult for her and it wasn't just because of his looks (or the smell of his blood. He smelled no better than anyone else and she had become accustomed to ignoring the scent.). Having been surrounded by such beautiful and handsome people for so many years, she had adjusted to it. Sakura let out a sharp exhale of air in a loud sigh, leaning back into the tree. She seriously doubted Sasuke would stay away from her, or his friend Naruto, even if she tried to become distant. Especially since she could tell that Hinata was rapidly getting a crush on the blond-haired hurricane. Neji, needless to say, was less than pleased about that, and had let his by-blood cousin know that.

Having seen how the violet-haired girl looked like she was about to cry, if she had been still able to, Sakura had jumped in and had the older man's fury turned onto her instead. She was still stinging from some of his venomous comments. "Dammit." She swore under her breath again. She had considered just informing Sasuke of the truth, but had dismissed it quickly, knowing that it would mean certain death for him if she did. Letting out a loud sigh, she leapt out of the tree easily in a blindingly fast movement and straightened immediately. Tucking a lock of her short hair behind her ear, she headed inside to let her family know that she was going for a run and would be back in a few days. It was the end of the week and she didn't worry much about missing too much school.

Especially since she had already covered the curriculum several times over and then some. Ino would probably come with her, she knew, and if Ino went, Shikamaru went despite his complaints.

* * *

Tell me what you think! But be nice: I'm sensitive about my stories, especially new ones.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Orion

Longest of all of them. I was really trying to hit 10,000 words with by the end of this chapter, and I think I may have succeeded.

Nothing else really to add.

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, or Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am merely using them for my twisted amusement.

And just an FYI, any songs I may use in here, I don't own. They all belong to their respective owners.

* * *

Sakura was missing the next day, Sasuke noticed, feeling the lack of her presence before he saw it and being disturbed by it.

And the day after that, and then the next one, Sasuke growing more worried and resentful each day. Naruto also seemed more downtrodden, with his 'secret' purple-haired crush missing as well. The rest of Sakura's family was present, giving no sign that they knew why their siblings were missing, and he could practically feel their glares burning through the shirt on his back whenever he passed one of them. He wasn't quite sure what they had to be upset about, but didn't want to press the matter further.

When Sakura reappeared the fourth day, looking flawless as ever, Sasuke felt as if she had never left. She handed the teacher a note with a sheepish look on, saying that she had had a cold and one of her siblings had had the misfortune of catching it as well. Her green eyes seemed a bit lighter than they had been the last time he had seen her, and the bruise-like shadows under her eyes had all but vanished as she smiled brightly at Kurenai before taking her seat next to Sasuke. "You're in my seat again, you ass." She told him lightly, and he glowered at her spitefully to cover up the fact that he had missed her while she had been gone. She simply smiled at his scowl before accepting the work that a student quickly handed her before shivering as her fingers accidentally brushed his and hurrying back to his seat without looking at her face.

Studying her face intently, Sasuke looked for an indication that the action had offended her but saw no sign. With an absent little smile present on, she continued to write down the notes that Kurenai was scrawling on the board perfectly in her flowing script. Turning back to his own work, the Uchiha proceeded to do the same. She seemed more cheerful than before she left and it was obviously affecting everyone in the classroom as even Kurenai seemed less snappy than before. Due to his intense focus, he finished his work quickly and almost immediately a note was dropped onto his desk while the teacher wasn't look. He snapped it up before the teacher could see and unfolded it quickly.

_Can I borrow your notes after class? Thank you!_

He rolled his dark eyes at her note, flashing her an irritated glance. She merely grinned in response before making the final note to her work and getting up to turn it in.

_I never said you could, idiot._

He flicked the note at her head in irritation and she caught it easily before unfolding it. She grinned back at him boldly before sitting down at her desk and writing out a reply. It took less time than his did, though she wrote out an entire paragraph. He could distinctly hear Kiba snickering, but kept his eyes focused on the pen in her head stubbornly. She rolled her eyes, jerking a thumb at Kiba as she tossed the note back to him. He unfolded it, half-wary of what her answer would be.

_Please? I need to catch up, and I have a feeling that your notes will be perfect. Or at least damn near it. I'm sure as hell not asking Kiba, if that's what you're trying to get me to do. It would really help me a lot. Think about it this way, the sooner you say yes, the sooner I leave you alone._

Crumpling up her note and stuffing it into his pocket, he nodded at her, looking resigned. She beamed at him and mouthed a quick 'thank you' before Kurenai noticed and immediately demanded to know what was going on. They both denied their interaction before starting to work diligently on the next assignment.

Once class was out, Sasuke did indeed give her his notes, telling her gruffly to have them back before class tomorrow. Naruto had skipped first period but now came up to him, digging his elbow into Sasuke's ribs as he started off for his second period. Naruto actually had PE then, but he continued to bother his friend. "Kiba told me about your date with Sakura yesterday. You _had _to make it at the cafeteria didn't you, your romantically-inept fool? You do realize we're juniors, right? You could have easily taken her to Mac's or something." The blonde rattled, finally causing the slightly taller man to whirl around.

"Dobe, as I've told you many times, shut _up._" Sasuke growled. "It wasn't a date, nor will ever be a date. We are not dating, fondling or anything else you fools come up with. Got it?" He hissed before whirling around. Naruto, used to his friend's temper tantrums, merely rolled his eyes and started in the opposite direction for the locker rooms.

"Bit tetchy, isn't he?" he muttered finally, before sliding into the room moments before the bell rang.

* * *

"You must."

The deep voice of Neji was flat, telling her that there was no room for arguing. Instead, she bared his teeth at him in an almost feral grimace. The room they were in was empty except for them, so she allowed her voice to drop from the pitch she always kept it in to something lower and not quite human. "You don't think I've tried?" She spat at his face, despite the fact he was almost a foot taller than she was. "I walked into that room with every intention of pretending he no longer existed. But it didn't happen and instead I found myself passing notes with him like I'm in grade school." She spat the last two out as if they were poisonous, her tone still rather caustic.

"I can't help how I act around him. Isn't it possible he may be my-"

Neji interrupted bluntly, his dark eyes flintier than normal. "No. It hasn't been found in centuries, Sakura."

"I may not be as smart as Shika is, but I am still rather fucking intelligent. I can tell that. But it has happened, albeit rarely, so why is it so impossible?" She argued, dropping her voice, ignoring his grimace as her crude wording. "When I walked into that room today, I heard his heartbeat escalate drastically almost immediately, while no one else did quite as much. I smelled the fear radiating off of the others, but him, he seemed almost…glad." She informed him. Neji shrugged nonchalantly, his hands fisted at his sides.

"He thinks your attractive, Sakura. As do most humans. It's obvious. But you must stay away at all times." He growled out before storming out of the room a second before the bell rang, signaling the end of class. They had both skipped out on third, having decided to meet, and with a scowl Sakura yanked up her books and took a moment to prepare herself, and after pasting a false but rather believable smile on her face, she walked out into the mad throng of other students, the scent of the life fluid in their veins starting a familiar burn in the back of her throat again as it did every other time she mingled with them.

Mentally calling Neji every swear word she could come up with, she entered her Jewelry class and tossed her stuff onto her desk next to Ino. The blonde immediately winced upon seeing her, reaching out to pat her hand. "I caught his thoughts even from here." The beautiful blonde whispered in a low voice, to low for anyone else to hear. "But he's right, Forehead. You really should stay away from him. He is a human after all, and I doubt you're planning on making him a snack." Her lips caressed the word carefully, making sure to stay bland on it. Sakura narrowed her eyes slightly at her friend's harsh words but kept her face carefully neutral as she took her time to respond.

"Thanks, piggy. You make such a good friend." Sarcasm dripped on her words, earning a dry smile from the ponytailed blonde. "But the thing is, I don't think I can. Or rather, that he can't. I mean, you must've been reading his thoughts like a madman while I was away, right?" Ino had the audacity to look embarrassed but not apologetic. "So I can assume that he-"

"-thought about you a lot." Ino interrupted, earning an eyebrow raise from the pinkette.

"Not quite what I was going for, but alright." Sakura nodded slowly, twisting to face the front with her hands neatly in front of her. The two collapsed into a comfortable silence for a while, before the naturally talkative blonde broke it.

"Did you see the weather this morning?"

"I heard it. Sunny for the next few days, right?" Ino nodded, grinning mischievously.

"Yup. Sounds like another Hatake Family hiking trip is happening." Sakura chuckled, knowing that they wouldn't be able to go to school while it was sunny.

"I think I'll stay home this time around. I did just go hunting. Maybe I'll paint or something." Sakura mused, more to herself than to anyone else. "Yeah. That'll work. I've been meaning to work on that new painting of mine anyways, so this just gives me more motivation to do it." She continued absently, earning a short nod and a shrug from the thin blonde. "So what happened at home while I was away?"

Ino shrugged. "Nothing much, Shika caught the scent of a rogue vampire and judging by the fact the scent of human blood was clinging to him, a non-vegetarian one at that. We ran out of the state and almost into Cheyenne before we turned home. Keep an eye on him, he seemed to be new at this." Sakura grimaced, knowing how difficult the young ones could be when untrained. "Other than that, nothing. Neji still seems to be irate with you, and Tenten is trying to calm him down by 'distracting' him."

"It's not working." Sakura interjected with an exaggerated eye roll. Ino chuckled, nodding in agreement before the teacher walked in and they started to work on the project from the day before quickly before they could get in trouble for 'slacking', with only muted whispers between the two. The teacher was strict, and came down hard on someone who spoke during class. Their whispers were too quiet to be heard, but they decided to air on the side of caution as the teacher could still see their lips move ever so slightly. By the end of the day, they had both finished their work and started on the next project without problems.

* * *

Sasuke scowled at the hunk of junk that was Naruto's car. It had broken down in the middle of the street and they had had to push it to the side of the road. Now, it was one of the strangely warm days, Sakura had gone missing _again_ from school as did the rest of her family, and he no longer had a car to get to and from school. Naruto stood on the other side of the car, attempting to be heard by shouting into the cell phone plastered to his ear. Judging by the foul words now almost casually slipping out of the blonde's mouth, the situation was only to get worse. Biting back an oath of his own, the Uchiha kicked the worn tire of the car before scanning the busy street. With a loud, crude cry, Naruto ended the call and turned to his raven-haired friend, looking pissed.

"They're refusing to come and get us. Saying something about being too busy or something. Damn pain in the asses." The blonde informed him angrily." I guess we'll walk it back to your place. It's only what, a mile?

"And a half." Sasuke mentally did some quick calculations. The two started to trudge along when a Jeep pulled up next to them. A familiar voice called out, "Hey fellas." Naruto lit up as he looked over.

"Kiba. What're you doing here, you asshole?"

"Shut up or else I won't give you a ride." Was Kiba's retort, as Sasuke rolled his eyes. If possible, Kiba and Naruto's relationship was more antagonistic than his and Naruto's. It made the phrase 'opposites attract' take on a whole different meaning, if you looked at Kiba and Naruto's personality and his personality and compared them all. Naruto, sensibly, shut up and crawled into the back of Kiba's jeep with Sasuke right behind him. The car was a beat-up, old hand-me-down, as were most people's, and had a light whiff of marijuana in it. Sasuke nose crinkled as he smelled it, staring out the window as Kiba proceeded to take them to his house and drop them off. He didn't want to know.

From there, they would probably proceed to watch horror movie after horror movie, until Sasuke finally started doing his homework with Naruto chattering all the way, and when he was done, Naruto would then ask if he could copy, in which Sasuke would refuse. They would go around and around for a while, before Sasuke gave in and allowed him to copy.

It was a predictable pattern, and a well-used one at that. Sasuke was saving up for his own car, though it was slow going at best. Since his family had been murdered when he was younger, all of the money left to him had gone into a bank account until he turned eighteen and was deemed old enough to handle the money, with only enough coming in each month to support his basic needs such as food, water, etc. Naruto too was parentless, though he had some money coming in from the head council each month for him. Too soon, they were at his small flat on the edge of town and after bidding their friend farewell, they tromped inside loudly.

"Did you manage to get any new movies, teme? All of your current movies are getting old." Naruto prattled on almost immediately, dropping his backpack by the door and making a beeline for the movie shelf while the raven-haired Uchiha ignored him and headed into the kitchen for a snack. Making an idle note that he had to go shopping soon, he walked back into the kitchen to find that Naruto had picked 'the Messengers' and was already popping it into the DVD player. Rolling his eyes at the movie they had already seen god only knows how many times and thus no longer found it scary, Sasuke sat down on the couch while Naruto claimed the chair as the movie previews started.

* * *

Sakura hummed as she sat down in front of her half-finished painting, idly mixing together two different kinds of paint to form a needed color as she studied the sketches in front of her. She had at first been unsure of what color she had been going to paint it, and had been putting it off until inspiration had hit. And now the sketch was done of a man with shaggy blue-black hair with a chiseled jaw line, long eyelashes, and high cheekbones with dark amber eyes that smoldered heat down at her. "Damn that's good." Sakura didn't start when the voice came from the doorway, instead turning and smiling absently at the man behind her.

"Hey, Shika. You like?" She asked, tilting her head at the painting as she spoke. Shikamaru spoke, his eyes now a light butterscotch as he scanned the picture. He inevitably knew who was in the picture and she also found it weird that Sasuke had influenced her current painting so strongly. The tall lean man strode silently across the paint-smeared room, carefully sitting on a patch of clean wood before turning to look at Sakura seriously. Already knowing what was going to happen, she turned back to her painting and began to fill in the man's shirt with a dark gray. Shikamaru was silent for a while before opening her mouth.

"Sakur-"

"I already know what you're going to say, okay? I should stay away from him, because he's mortal and a human and all that. I _know_, alright?" She interrupted without looking up, sounding vaguely frustrated. Shikamaru sighed, before falling silent once more. That was one thing she appreciated about him: that he knew when to keep his mouth shut, unlike a certain longhaired boy who would not be mentioned. That's what made him her favorite sibling, aside from Ino of course. "I know I shouldn't be hanging out with him, but he's _fun_. Though I will admit, his keenness is rather irritating. He's already getting suspicious, but he doesn't seem like the type to blabber thing out." Now that she was alone with Shikamaru, she let all of her feelings erupt out of her as she studiously focused on her painting.

Shikamaru kept quiet and allowed her to rant, thankful that everyone else was still hunting several hundred miles away and so wouldn't be able to hear her. Some of the things she was saying were less than pleasant, especially about Neji in particular. She was able to keep her strokes perfectly even and smooth despite her obvious agitation, her voice getting louder as she spoke. "Sakura, I'm not here to judge or tell you to do something. That's troublesome." She rolled her eyes at his favorite words, a half-smile playing around her lips as she listened. "I'm just here to tell you that I'm rooting for you and to remind you to be careful. If he's noticing things now, it could leave to trouble in the future. That's all." The tall man got to his feet once he had finished working and began to exit the room carefully. "And Sai's helping you a lot, I can tell."

She beamed. "Thanks, Shika-kun!" He rolled his eyes at her old nickname for him before disappearing out of sight, muttering a low 'troublesome' under his breath as he headed down the stairs on silent feet. Sakura's soft, but perfectly audible, breathy laughter followed him to the kitchen and out the back door. The door closed behind him quietly, and only then did he allow himself a brief grin before darting out into the forest in search of his mate and family.

Sakura now hummed under her breath as she finished up the painting only thirty minutes later. Placing the palette on the ground carefully, she took a step back to examine the picture carefully. Deeming it acceptable, she left it on the stand to dry as she set about cleaning off her tools and drying them carefully. The entire was covered with various painting she did in her past time, and the walls, ceiling, and floor were smeared with various colors of dried-on paints. The faint scent of acrylic paint hung in the air continually. It was her private refuge and didn't allow anyone else in unless they had permission or were Shikamaru whom she allowed in without permission. Even Ino needed permission.

She had thrown open the window earlier and now crossed the room delicately to look outside. It was just as bright as it had been when she had woken up, and now the sunlight pouring into her room danced on her skin, causing it to light up like a million-faceted diamond. Looking away from the bright glitter that was her skin, she looked around and briefly admired the scenery before ducking back into the dim room and across it to the hall. She danced down the hallway, having grown bored with painting. She hummed, dancing over to the stereo where she turned it on loudly to a familiar song and began dancing to it as she next headed over to the bookshelf and started to find a book to re-read.

Finding one on Ancient Egypt mythology, she pulled it off of the shelf and headed over to the couch to sprawl out and read. She had had read it a few times, but had discovered that it was quite interesting and was fine about reading it over and over again. Ino had teased her over it on several occasions, but had also been interested as well. Sakura sung along to the words of the song as she flipped the book open to a part that looked good before beginning to read the tiny print with ease.

Several hours passed, and she eventually tossed the book aside in boredom before getting to her feet. She was feeling the beginnings of boredom beginning to sink in and she had nothing to do. She didn't feel like reading, the house was spotless, she didn't want to paint or write, she had no one to spar with, and she had just fed. She had a rough estimate of where her family was, but didn't want to bother trying to figure out where they were by going and looking for them. Shikamaru, being one of the faster ones, was probably well on his way there now, as he had been checking in from having gone on his trip to another vegetarian coven further south than theirs.

Prancing over to the stereo, she turned it up louder, now beginning to feel the floor vibrate under her feet in tune with the beat. She spun around gracefully in a tight circle and began to dance, singing loudly to the words. She swung her hips side-to-side quickly, mindless of the rays of sun that cascaded into the living room and she danced silently around on swift feet.

_Don't turn your back on me; I won't be ignored!_

She sang loudly with Chest Bennington's voice, her voice not fitting in smoothly with the hoarse screams reverberating from the speakers. She picked up her book in a graceful down sweep before placing it on the bookshelf neatly in its original position before spinning away. Sakura found herself getting swept away in the loud, fast beat and hurried to press 'repeat.' Pirouetting away from the stereo, she headed into the kitchen, ever cautious to not break things. Belting out the lyrics boldly, she unconsciously adjusted her dance to the beat as she shifted from room to room in a whirlwind. "Its like no matter what I do, I can't convince you for once to hear me out!" She sang out, pausing in her stride and striking a dramatic pose as if to an audience.

After standing in the pose for a few seconds, she spun elegantly out of it in a quick movement and moved on to the next steps. She tried to scream along with Chester but failed, and settled for singing along to the actual singing instead of screaming. By several turns later, her hair was in a mess around her face, though she wasn't out of breath and not flushed. She chuckled and pressed a button to turn off the loop the song had been on before going in search of a brush to fix her awry hair. She grinned and made a mental note to thank Shikamaru later. He obviously knew that she would want some way to work out her frustration, and so purposefully left out one of his more aggressive CDs for her to listen to.

That Shikamaru.

She fixed her clothes, and grinned again before heading off to see if Ino did indeed have her copy of Gone with the Wind, which the blonde vehemently denied having every time she asked. She slid into her friend's room, full of fashionable clothes that she doubted was ever worn twice, and different makeup products and hair appliances. She rolled her eyes and started looking for the book, being carefully to be as gentle with Ino's thing as she possibly could. She started in the bedroom, before slowly making her way to Ino's massive bathroom, and finally to the blonde's two walk-in closet, both of which were large enough to fit a California King-sized bed with room to spare.

Finally, deciding that the blonde must've been telling the truth, Sakura left the room in hopes of being able to find the book before her family got back and was reduced to glaring matches with the longhaired man and suggestive comments from her 'father' Kakashi. She rolled her eyes again at the mental image, before deciding to try the garage. She knew for a fact that Neji had a soft spot for romance novels and he often spent his time in the garage fiddling around with the many cars they had. She headed there, sliding into the garage door quietly and flicking on a light swiftly. She scanned the crowded, and surprisingly messy garage keenly, her nose immediately crinkling at the thick smell of gasoline and grease hanging in the air.

Grimacing a little, she headed over to Neji's work area and began moving things as delicately as she could, not wanting her fingers to be stained with grease like Neji's so often were. "Ah hah!" She moved the slightly stained book from underneath a dirty wench and screwdriver and hurried out of the garage and closed the door firmly behind her before going off in search of something to wipe off the book. If she hadn't been so amused by the fact that Neji had a sappy romance in the garage, she would have been infuriated at the fact that one of her favorite books had gotten stained due to his carelessness. She made a mental note to tease him about it once he was home but instead settled on sitting on the couch and starting to read from the beginning.

A low knock at the door startled her out of her reverie, causing her to jerk upright. She stared at the door uncomprehendingly for a few minutes, thankful that the windows by the door were closed. "Coming! Just a moment!" She called out loudly, knowing her visitor would hear her before she tossed the book down onto the floor and immediately rushed around the house closing all the windows and lowering the curtains so no light got in. Pausing briefly to toss a blanket over her shoulders, she took a moment to make sure everything was at the couch for a sick person, which is what her excuse was, before walking calmly down the stairs and to the door, wishing that her face could still flush. She adjusted the blanket around her shoulders briefly, before opening the door slowly.

The person turned upon seeing the door move, greeting her with a simple, "Hey."

She stared. "Sasuke?"

* * *

Dun dun dunnnnn!

That's the end of the chapter I already had done. It might take me a few days to get Four out, but I'll hurry, I swear!

Also: Still in desperate need of Beta. Send in application if interested. xD

So tell me your thoughts, please!

Thanks for reading!

(Also, if you're wondering, they're located in Montana. Billings, Montana actually. The city was completely random. I need a city that would be overcast a lot, but not in Washington because that's already been done. I know next to nothing about Billings, so if you know anything's wrong for a fact, please let me know and I'll try to edit! Thanks!)


	4. Leo

Chapter four is up!

I kinda went on a ramble with this one, but I had fun writing it. This one focuses mostly on Sakura, without much Sasuke. Sorry guys, but I hope you like the chapter anyways! Some romance, but not alot of SasuSaku.

Check the bottom for reviewer replies! Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply and tell me what they thought!

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, or Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am merely using them for my twisted amusement.

Nngh. Not quite sure about this chapter. I had fun writing it, but it didn't seem to want to come out quite right.

(Not beta'd by the way)

* * *

The two sat across from each other in the living room, Sakura making sure that she was tucked up in the blanket on the couch while Sasuke sat across from her in one of the chairs. She could tell that he was openly curious about their house, which was a Victorian home that Anko and Ino had gone to town on refurbishing and redecorating while leaving the original touch there. There was a stack of papers in front of him that she suspected were her makeup work, though he didn't seem like he was going to hand them over any time soon. She cleared her throat, an unneeded action but she did it mostly to get his attention. His black eyes flicked over to her's quickly, and she made her voice sound hoarse. "So, what're you doing here?"

Then he handed over the papers, and she accepted them, flipping through them quickly before deeming them easy enough and laying them aside. He looked uncomfortable, underneath his emotionless facade. "Is that it?" She asked for clarification. He nodded shortly. "So you came all the way out here, on the edge of town, to drop off a few papers? You do realize that I could've gotten these tomorrow, don't you?" His eyes narrowed slightly, but she ignored the sign.

"Yes, so?" The Uchiha replied shortly. She didn't respond, and only smiled slightly at him, shaking her head softly as she flicked her eyes to the ground. It was a smile he was unaccustomed to seeing on her; it was a shy smile, like she wasn't quite sure how to respond. He preferred the bold, challenging smile. She got to her feet fluidly and readjusted the blanket around her shoulders. Sakura gestured for him to follow her into the kitchen and he got to his feet slowly, following her as she shuffled into the kitchen. He could obviously tell that she wasn't sick, judging by her un-flushed cheeks and the way she didn't sound stuffy at all.

He stood awkwardly in the doorway to the kitchen, examining the brightly colored room easily. It was probably the more eccentric of the two rooms he had seen, with its bright blue cabinets, and black countertops. There was a large window in front of the sink that overlooked their backyard, which looked more like a meadow than anything else. There was a sliding glass door that led outside on the end of the counter, with a table large enough to fit ten pushed against the wall. The table had a brightly colored, patterned tablecloth over it, with chairs in the same style but differently colored surrounding it neatly. Looking closer, he saw that no two chairs were the same color and each chair was the perfect match to one of the color in the tablecloth.

"My mom decided to decorate this room. She's eccentric, as you can obviously tell." Sakura obviously caught him staring, and offered up the explanation. She didn't sound sheepish, more like proud, with a slight tinge of admiration in it. It was clear she loved and adored whoever her mother was, and Sasuke's curiosity was peaked as to who this mother was. He turned to look at Sakura, who was standing in front of the sink, getting herself a glass of water before heading over to the fridge and popping out a few ice cubes out of the tray with ease. Once her chore was done, she turned back around. She seemed to know that he didn't want anything to drink, as she didn't offer him anything.

"Where's the rest of your family?" Sasuke asked, having noticed that she was completely alone. She laughed sheepishly, coming up with a lie on the spot.

"They all went to go see a movie and then go shopping. Apparently to get away from the sick person." She lied smoothly, knowing that her family was instead in another state dwindling the wild animal population. Sasuke nodded, as they fell back into silence once more. Sakura brushed past him, and he couldn't help the shiver as her icy cold skin brushed against his. She pretended not to notice, as she settled back down in the couch. The pinkette nursed her glass of water with no intention of drinking it. Sasuke took his seat across from her. "I seriously doubt you want to catch whatever I've got, so why are you hanging around?" She asked.

"The dobe wanted me to ask if that purple-haired girl is going to be at school tomorrow." He replied shortly. She tilted her head to the side slightly as she thought before shrugging airily.

"You mean, provided she doesn't catch whatever this is? Probably." She felt about lying to him, which she had never gotten used to, but gave no outward sign. " I should also be in school tomorrow, if it makes you feel better." She teased him lightly. Sasuke grunted, before looking away from her sharply, looking a little embarrassed. She could smell it on him, and she couldn't help the loud laugh that escaped her at the realization. He visibly jumped at the bold, unexpected sound, before twisting his head lightly to glower fiercely at her. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed, Sasu-chan." She grinned, purposefully talking to him as if he was a little kid.

The barely visible flush on his cheeks that he scrambled to hide sent a burning thirst down her throat, but she stubbornly kept her grin up, enjoying teasing him. After her chortles had died, her turned back around to glower at her, which she promptly grinned at. "Shut up." He grumbled, getting to his feet.

"Aw, leaving so soon, Sasu-chan?" She cooed, enjoying the way his jaw tightened. "We're just getting started."

"I'm going to leave if you insist on continuing to act like that." He snapped back irately, watching as her smile drooped slightly before coming back, though with a definite fake air to it. He made a mental note to remember that harsh tones could hurt her emotionally. With a sigh, he sat back down and she beamed at him almost immediately. He really was getting too soft. They collapsed into a comfortable silence, with only the odd humming from Sakura. "Can I ask you a question?" Sasuke asked suddenly. She looked up, looking mildly surprised, and then nodded with a nonchalant shrug.

"Sure. But I get to ask you one in return." She responded with a grin, apparently having forgiven him for his earlier snappiness. He nodded in agreement, knowing it would be futile to argue with her, and not really wanting to anyways.

"What are you?" He phrased the question badly, and couldn't help wincing at the realization. Her expression didn't alter, as she looked mildly bemused.

"What kind of question is that? I'm a human, just as you are. At least, I hope you are." She chuckled, eyeing him playfully. "Why do you ask?"

"Everybody shies away from you, you're really pale and cold." He struggled to explain. She shrugged.

"It's always been like that, and I have bad circulation. I'm pale because I don't want _skin cancer._" She answered effortlessly, her tone of voice implying that she thought his IQ rather low. Sasuke shook his head, muttering 'forget it' under his breath and turning his gaze to the floor.

"No pets?"

"Nope. Ino's allergic." She told him the lie they had all decided on effortlessly.

"Who?"

"Long-haired blonde." He vaguely recalled the pale and beautiful blonde he had seen on occasion and nodded briefly. He had never paid the blonde much attention, preferring to study the much-more interesting pinkette that he saw more often.

"How did so many of you come together?" He blurted out, before mentally kicking himself. It was a stupid question but he wanted to know.

"Hinata's mom's cousin whose father died, and Ino, myself, and Shika are all adopted. Neji, and Tenten decided to come stay with us, and are apparently related to someone that Kakashi, our dad knows." Sasuke looked confused at the names, and she had to remind herself that he hadn't been introduced to her family yet.

"Shika's the spiky, ponytailed brunette, Hinata's the purple-haired shy-looking girl. Tenten was the girl with buns on her head, and Neji is the one with long brown hair." She explained, ticking off their most obvious traits, doubting that he had paid them much mind to catalogue the tiny details about them, like how Neji's eye twitched whenever he was trying to refrain from laughing, or that Ino couldn't stop grinning when she was absolutely infuriated.

"The girly-looking one?"

Sakura was startled into a laugh by Sasuke's unexpected comment, and made a mental note to tell Neji the comment later just to see his reaction. "Yeah, Neji's the girly-looking one." She confirmed with another laugh. "Just don't let him hear you say that. He'd eat you alive for dinner." She told him jokingly, only half-kidding. It irritated the longhaired man immensely when people teased him about his feminine looks, which just made her and Ino do it even more. Sasuke merely lifted a dark eyebrow, staring at her with serious onyx eyes through his fringe of blue-black bangs. "What?"

"Nothing." He grunted, looking away. Sakura blinked, looking absolutely confused but shrugging and brushing his weird PMS-y moods off anyways. She had spent too much time around arrogant, _prissy _men to let it bother her too much. They collapsed back into a comfortable silence, which she suspected would happen a lot if they continued to spend more time together, as Sasuke didn't strike her as a particularly chatty person.

"So, any favorite hobbies?" She asked lamely, itching to break the silence. Sasuke flashed her a look as if he wanted her to shut up.

"Kickboxing." He answered shortly, looking away.

"Cool. Any good at it?"

He looked immediately indignant, his black eyes flashing. "Of course." His voice was astoundingly arrogant and she bit back the urge to snicker. "What're yours?" He asked, eager to get the conversation off of him and finding himself curious.

"I like to paint. A close friend of mine is an excellent painter, and he got me into it years ago." She replied, immediately lighting up at the mention of her hobby. She got to her feet, and tugged him to his lightly. "C'mon, I have some of my works upstairs."

"They any good?" His tone of voice was vaguely condescending, but she ignored it, before shrugging. He followed her up the stairs and to the second door on the right, before she opened it and ushered him in. He immediately blinked, looking around. The only furniture in the medium-sized room was a chair and easel. The walls and floor were covered by painting of various sizes, all completed. He saw a few of the blonde he had seen on several occasions, including a few of every member, including two he assumed to be her family. He ignored the pang that resulted when he realized there wasn't one of him. He was surprised to note that they were indeed very good. Sakura stood next to him with only a few scant inches between them. She was indeed rather short, as he was barely 5'8 and she scarcely came up to his collarbone. She was silent as he studied the paintings, looking surprisingly shy as if she wasn't used to showing off her works. "Not bad." It was the closest he would come to giving her a compliment and his voice was gruff while doing so.

She beamed brightly, obviously pleased. "Thanks. Those are Sai's over there. He has so many he didn't notice when I stole them." She pointed to the wall where some of the better paintings were, and his black eyes slid from her face to them before flickering back slowly. She pretended not to notice, knowing that if she still had the ability to blush, she would have turned five different shades of red by now. "As you can tell, he's had a lot more time to practice than I have." _About four decades worth. _She added mentally.

"Yours are fine." Sasuke grunted, before turning out of the paint-stained room and brushing past Sakura to the hallway and the stairs. Feeling surprisingly flustered, Sakura followed him silently. "I have to get going, Sakura." His voice was gruff, and she simply nodded. "I actually spent more time than I originally planned, and I told the dobe I would meet up with him soon and if I don't make it there on time, he'll call me to shriek my ear off." She chuckled, nodding at the blunt comment and knowing that it was true. She didn't bother walking him to the door, and merely waved at him airily from her position at the bottom of the stairs, watching as he walked smoothly to the door on quiet feet and slipped out the door gracefully before closing it behind him quietly but firmly.

_He really is quite graceful, even if he is a human. _She mused to herself absently, as she removed the blanket off of her shoulders and tossing it carelessly onto the couch as she crossed to the window by the door and made sure that Sasuke was indeed pulling out of her driveway in a beat-up, faded black car that she had to assume was on loan as she had never remembered seeing it in the school parking lot. After watching him disappear down the road back into town slowly, she flashed out of the large house through the back door and into the back yard, pretending that she didn't miss his presence. It wasn't fenced as they all liked to spend time outside and had bought the land surrounding the house.

It was into the nearby forest that Sakura flitted into now, her skin glittering magnificently whenever a ray of sun hit it. The warmth of the sunlight felt delicious on her cold skin, and she inhaled sharply before spinning around and flashing through the shadows.

* * *

"Hey, you're back."

Sakura greeted her family several hours later, when the sun had got down into the sun and the moon was high in the sky. All of their eyes were the lightest butterscotch, though Neji immediately sniffed the air and narrowed his eyes at her dangerously. "He was here, wasn't he?" He asked flatly. She nodded, unperturbed by his stiff demeanor.

"He was dropping off my schoolwork for today and we hung out for a bit. What's it to you?" She shot back playfully, earning a soft snort from the taller man, stepping aside to allow the other members of her family to trickle into their home. Kakashi was first, his bright silver hair jutting out in the direction of his left shoulder, and a dark blue mask covered the lower half of his face. Being one of the few that had seen his face, she knew that he was astoundingly handsome, even for an Immortal. Anko was right behind him, with her dark purple hair cut in a close frame around her face, and the rest pulled back into a tight and messy ponytail at the back of her skull. She was an unorthodox beauty, though Sakura absolutely adored her and it made her a bit prejudiced. Unlike her mate's serious demeanor, Anko was a crazy, eccentric woman with a taste for violence.

Hinata was next, shooting her a shy smile, followed by Ino who just grinned broadly and the harassed-looking Shikamaru, with Tenten and Neji coming in last. "You let him go upstairs?" Her blonde best friend asked, sounding surprised. Sakura shrugged.

"I showed him my paintings, that's all." She answered, knowing that Ino would pick the rest out of her head even if she didn't tell her. And after a moment, the blonde's lips quirked up and she kept her mouth closed. Anko sniffed the chair he had been sitting in intently, before straightening and whirling around to face her young 'daughter' in a swift and graceful moment.

"He smells good." Anko told the pinkette, who just rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"You think everyone smells good, mom." She teased, ignoring the way that Neji was glowering at her. He wouldn't do anything with their 'parents' in the room, as Anko definitely wouldn't care and neither would Kakashi. It was just Neji's seniority as an Immortal and his distaste for humans that was keeping him from trusting Sasuke. He had a fierce protective streak in him for his family, and absolutely refused to mingle with the students at their school, like some of the others tried to do.

Anko just shrugged, unabashed, before flitting to the kitchen. "So how was the hunting?" Sakura asked, turning towards the other members in her family.

"Not bad. The bears were large and obviously thriving. They put up a nice fight." Shikamaru responded, voice sounding slightly strained. With a quick glance at his mischievously grinning mate, Sakura had an idea as to why. With as high-maintenance as Ino was, she was surprised that Shikamaru had been able to put up with her as long as he had. When Ino caught the thoughts, she sent her short pink-haired best friend a mock-glare out of the corner of her eye, which was promptly ignored.

"He went into the kitchen, too?" Anko asked in a normal tone of voice, though they all heard clearly. Sakura called back an affirmative, before whirling around to the obviously scowling Neji and poking a hand into his chest, silently telling him to shut up and leave her alone. His scowl didn't lessen any, though he took a few steps back. Sakura was definitely the strongest out of all of them by far, while Kakashi was the fastest and Shikamaru was the smartest, and wouldn't be afraid to remind him of that fact if he continued to irritate her with his over-protectiveness. Tenten reminded quiet, merely chuckling loudly at her mate's silent chiding.

Satisfied that she had reminded her old brother to leave her alone, Sakura spun around in a graceful motion and faced the rest of her family. Kakashi's eye crinkled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a tattered book with a familiar orange covering. Not even a second later, Anko's voice rang out from the kitchen. "Kakashi, that better not be your Icha Icha again." They all knew that she despised the porn that her mate so dearly loved, and had actually lit a couple of the books on fire in a fit of anger, though Kakashi hadn't looked bother, which led them to know that he had several copies of each book. With a sheepish expression, Kakashi put the book away and called back a contradiction followed by a smug "I thought so."

It seemed that all of the females in the family had their male mates whipped.

With a wry grin, Sakura bid her family goodbye and disappeared upstairs into her painting room. She had the sudden urge to paint something and her crisp mind already had an idea as to what. It involved spiky pitch-black hair, equally dark eyes, and unblemished pale skin and a handsome face.

A loud laugh behind her told her that Ino had read her thoughts, including the mental picture she was going to paint.

* * *

"You're in my seat again."

Sasuke was more pleased than he should have been about the fact that Sakura was definitely at school, and his flat voice lacked the normal accusing tone it usually carried. The pink-haired girl looked up from her (his, damnit!) desk and smiled becomingly at him. She was wearing a loose black skirt that reminded him vividly of a gypsy-like skirt and fell to her ankles, with a formfitting dark green tanktop that matched her eyes perfectly. Her spiky pink hair was pulled away from her face by one black glittery barrette. Underneath the skirt he could see her toes and had to assume that she was wearing her boots again. "Hello to you too." She responded bemusedly, ignoring his former comment.

"I said, you're in my seat." Sasuke repeated.

She blinked innocently. _Too _innocently. "So?"

"Move."

Now her eyes gleamed with a silent challenge, as her lips curved invitingly. "Make me, pretty boy."

He definitely had to do something with her new nickname for him.

Deciding that it wasn't worth it, he slid in to sit behind her and quickly accepted the earbud she offered him, popping it into his ear. At first, there were the soothing sounds of classic music playing, but Sakura effortlessly flipped it to another song she seemed to know that he would like. The loud beat crashed through the speakers quickly, and he couldn't contain the wince he gave off at the unexpected sound. Sakura didn't seem bothered with it as she flicked the volume lower for his benefit effortlessly. He didn't recognize the loud, fast beat, which seemed to be happening a lot, and she told him the name a few lines into the song.

_The bass, the rock  
The mic, the treble  
I like my coffee black  
Just like my metal  
_

"It's called 'Shut Me Up' by Mindless Self Indulgence." He made a mental note to remember the band, as the song was really good once he adjusted to the aggressive beat. She hummed along with the tune as she removed her makeup work from her folder and tossed the other earbud onto his desk as she got to her feet in one fluid motion and walked over to Kurenai's, who had yet to come in, and dropped off the needed paperwork, before returning back to her seat. She plucked up the abandoned earbud and popped it back into place before turning around to face the front. This time, her blonde friend, Ino, and the tall male behind him (Shikamaru?) were the next to come in.

Ino made her way over to the perched pinkette, and he felt her calculating stare on him, though it didn't necessarily seem unfriendly for the time being. "Hey forehead-girl." The blonde greeted the pink-haired woman casually, her dark blue eyes still focused on him. _Forehead-girl? _He repeated the insulting nickname to himself, wondering where it came from. Recalling a mental picture of Sakura, he focused on her forehead. It didn't seem that large, maybe just the littlest bit, but not enough to create a nickname for it definitely. It worked for the unusual pinkette, despite its size, with her pale pink, spiky hair and large dark green eyes. The shadows under her eyes were becoming more noticeable again, he couldn't help noticing though it was a small detail.

Sakura didn't seem bothered by the insulting comment, as she didn't even look up from her book. "Hey, pig." She retorted lightly, her tone teasing. That one made sense, given the blonde's name, but it also didn't seem to fit her, given her slim and small build. He had to assume that it was something from childhood, like him and Naruto, and decided to ignore the conversation entirely. The song from before had ended, moving on to another one, this one also unfamiliar. He lowered his eyebrows at the song, listening intently now. Sasuke was relieved to note that the blonde was no longer scrutinizing him, and neither was the brunette whose dark brown eyes seemed to be focused on the short blonde possessively. The Uchiha was unsure if the possessiveness was because of him or just also there, but didn't want to bother asking.

_She's going out to forget they were together  
All that time he was taking her for granted  
She wants to see if there's more  
than he gave she's looking for_

"It's called, ' I Don't Wanna Be in Love' by Good Charlotte, Sasuke." Sakura answered his unasked question with a slight eye roll, as if she couldn't believe he didn't recognize the song. He briefly considered making some snappy, sarcastic reply, but decided against it. His mind still recalled too vividly the broken look he had caught on her face the day before, and he didn't want to do anything that would risk seeing that look again. It had stirred feelings that he wasn't familiar with and had decided to smother them instead to take out on Naruto later. Which he had done, and his blonde best friend was still sporting several bruises from where Sasuke had shown the kick boxer in him to his friend, who had always been taking the same class, though not for as long.

The two girls in front of him were now discussing something pointless, and the ruggedly handsome brunette had gone to his seat, but not before muttering a, 'They're always so troublesome' to the sitting Uchiha. He assumed it was something of a pet name for the blonde, and could definitely see where it fit her to a pinch. Quickly, he found the blonde examining him sternly once more before looking away. Were all of Sakura's relatives this bad? If they were, Sasuke wasn't too sure he wanted to meet them all. Sakura was bad enough; he wasn't quite sure how he would do with the entire family. This time an out of place snort escaped the blonde, and Sasuke quickly shot her a sharp, suspicious look before looking at the door as Naruto came rushing into the room.

He had always wondered where the boy had gotten all of his energy, and had once considered asking him, before decided he didn't want to know.

After all, what he didn't know, he couldn't be held accountable for.

Sasuke was ripped violently from his thoughts, as the blonde moved back to her seat and Sakura immediately spun back around to face him. "Y'know, I'm been thinking that I should give you musical therapy." She commented, earning a barely raised eyebrow.

"Music therapy?" Sasuke repeated flatly. She nodded quickly.

"Well, not 'therapy' as much as 'tutoring' I guess. You are obviously lacking in the music taste and can't recognize many songs. I know a lot of songs, and therefore I should be able to fix your music incompetence." She explained, shrugging with one shoulder. Sasuke stared at her, completely nonplussed. Not that you could tell by his face, he was in a perfect mask.

"Are you asking me out on a date, Sakura?" His voice unknowingly dropped a few notches, almost husky as he continued to study her. She didn't even bat an eyelash, or do anything of the other things he had been anticipating.

"It can be whatever the hell you want it to be, Sasu-_chan_." She told him, purposefully calling him by her new nickname for him and earning a narrow-eyed scowl for it. With seconds, he had recovered himself and continued to narrow his eyes at her daringly.

"Well, any chance you had of it being a date just flew out the window, Saku-_chan._" He taunted her, turning her tactic back upon her. She just laughed abrasively, as if surprised he had dared to do such a thing.

Well yes, he did dare.

"Please. Like I'd try to date you." Her voice was openly bemused. "I'm afraid 'more arrogance than god' isn't on my list of acceptable attributes for potential suitors." He rolled his eyes at the sarcasm thickly coating her words and quickly responded with a sardonic comment, as they quickly engaged into a witty banter.

* * *

Across from Sasuke, Naruto sat with his books not yet unpacked, silent for once. He was feeling strangely ignored, his cerulean blue eyes flicking between his two friends who were currently in the middle of an argument that didn't really make a lot of sense to him with a lot of the words he was sure not even a college graduate would recognize, but he had the feeling whatever they were saying was highly insulting to each other.

He found it odd that Sasuke was even engaging in the banter with Sakura-chan. Normally, his closest friend preferred to sulk in silence in the Emo Corner and turn anyone who tried to speak to him into a pile of goo via glare. Especially in the morning.

Suddenly, it dawned on him and he couldn't (and didn't want to) contain the foxy grin that stretched his tanned and whiskered cheeks.

Sasuke was _flirting. _

He didn't quite know how it happened, as he was pretty sure that Sasuke had no sex drive and was a robot, but Sasuke was definitely flirting whether he knew it or not.

With Sakura.

Who seemed to be flirting right back.

Dear God!

_Poor teme. _Naruto thought sorrowfully to himself. _He never knew what hit him. _Thinking of flirting reminded the spiky blonde of the shy purple-haired girl he had met a few days ago, and he brightened considerably at the thought of seeing her in third for Science where they were stuck together as lab partners. He might actually pass this year, as Hinata seemed intelligent in what they were currently studying, unlike him.

Whenever she was able to get a full sentence out, that is.

Deciding not to disrupt the Flirt Fest going on next to him despite the part of him that was screaming 'do it, do it damn you!', Naruto got to his feet and disappeared. There was a few minutes left to the bell, and he would go off to see if he could track down Kiba and start a _real _argument with fists and everything, not just a faux one. None of the school officials ventured down there. He couldn't contain his grin as the thought of this, and his pace quickened slightly as he headed for the broken down bathroom on the southern end of the school campus. That particular bathroom was no longer in use, and now some of the drug addicts hung out there, including Kiba. And if the blonde was lucky, Kiba would already be stoned, and the brunette was _cranky _when high and more likely to fight him.

Calming effect, his ass.

Their banter was only stopped when the teacher walked in and demanded silence.

Naruto had long since been back, sporting a fresh black and split lip and looking pleased with himself. Sasuke immediately knew that he had gone to pick a fight with a stoned Kiba, and rolled his eyes at the thought. Sarutobi Kurenai stalked around her desk as the class worked, occasionally muttering something unintelligible but no doubt colorful under her breath while rubbing her protruding belly.

The only good thing was that she had allowed them to listen to their mp3 players during class, and Sakura shared her's with his the entire time without a word of complaint. He wondered briefly if she was going to ask him to have lunch with her again, but dismissed the thoughts with a mental 'nah.' The last time had probably been a one-time thing, and he had just seen her the day before for an extended period of time.

He didn't linger on the feeling of irritation of the thought of not eating lunch with her, instead attacking his work with a little more fervor than before. He finished not too long after that, and continued to sit at his desk with his finished work in a neat pile at the corner of his desk. He could have sworn he heard a 'teacher's pet' come from the girl in front of him as he was arranging the papers into the stack. Finally, Kurenai barked loudly for the papers to be turned in, and he did so swiftly before returning to his desk.

The bell rang not moments later, and he threw his things together, pausing momentarily when Sakura slipped something into his hand before removing her iPhone and tucking it away before stepping out the door. After tugging his messenger bag onto his shoulder, Sasuke opened his palm and saw it to be another note. Walking out the door, he unfolded it swiftly.

_See you at lunch!_

_Pretty boy._

He rolled his eyes at the immature note before tossing it into the trash and heading off to second period where Sakura would also be waiting for him. Why she hadn't waited until then to give him the note, he didn't know.

Still, he couldn't contain the silent smile on his face at the thought before realizing that he was _smiling _and then removing it and replacing it with his standard smirk.

* * *

End of chapter four.

Okay, nothing else really to add except for the reviewer replies! I tried to answer everyone's question to the best of my ability, but some of the questions would have given away too much if I answered, so I'm sorry if yours' didn't get answered.

**Reviewer Replies:**

IDon'tNeedToReply: Okay, I'll do my best with your reviews. You reviewed all of the chapters (thank you by the way!) and asked a lot of questions but I'll do my best. First off, thank you so much for reading and your reviews had me laughing. Hell yes, I kept those boots! I swear, if I could steal those, I totally would. -nod- Yeah, I'm trying my best not to have them meet each other and immediately be all fluffy, because too much fluff makes me nauseous. And its totally unlike Sasuke to meet someone and immediately be all fluffy and cuddly and everything, and I'm trying to keep things in character as much as possible. Thanks, I try to keep the characters as they are in the manga, the only difference being Asuma. I made him alive because I love him to pieces and wanted to. Everything else I'm trying to keep in character. Yeah, they are. I had the alter the abilities a bit, and I'm going to leave some of the ungifted for variety, but a few of them will have abilities. Tsunade will probably be coming in later. I'm just not going to tell you how or why. I know, I was basing the car off of a piece of crap I used to have, but it breaking down will indeed have a purpose later, I swear. And I'm almost positive its Shiranui. I think that's how its spelled. I did a good job with Ino? Thanks. That more means to me than you probably meant for it, but I despise Ino but I accept that its impossible to have a well-written SasuSaku story without her being in it. And she is prettier than Sakura, even if it pains me to say it. And no, she didn't imprint on him. That's a werewolf term. But I'll tell you this: whatever she thinks Sasuke is for her: he won't be. That's all I'm saying though. ;) -bows sheepishly- Thank you. Years of trial and reading great, detailed stories that will probably give me a complex. Yeah, my high school has Jewelry class, and I put it in on a whim. I absolutely love Sai, so yes he would be in it. I'm making him a vampire, just because of how freaking pale he is. I can't answer that (about Sasuke's parents)! It would give away the entire story! Yes, Neji...with romance novels. Hah hah. Thanks for your offer of being my beta. I emailed you to ask you to be. ;) Wow, I kinda rambled here. Sorry about that.

Affectionate: Thank you for reading this story, and I'm glad you like it so much. And thank you, that's kinda where the idea came from. I was reading one of my Twilight books (Breaking Dawn, maybe?) and then I thought about how many SasuSaku stories there were with a plot similar to thought. And then it occured to me that all of them had Sasuke as the vampire, and I wanted to do one differently. Thanks for noticing. I hope I do you proud!

CelestialMaidenofSilence: I updated as quickly as I could. Make sure you tell me what you think!

ladyDV011: The answer's being much in this chapter. Hope you found it!

All of you guys even favorited!? I think I love you all! (In a completely platonic way of course.)

Please review and get a cookie!


	5. Leo Minor

I am on a roll! Whoot! Ignore the fact I stayed up until after five in the morning to finish this stupid thing.

Also: you guys are probably going to hate me by the end of this chapter, but its a necessary action, I swear.

And I'd like it if I didn't get any reviews that go on and on about how Karin is a whore or something. I really don't mind her, so yeah. (Not to say that I hope she winds up with Sasuke. Ew.)

Check the bottom for reviews, even if it is only three. Seriously, people, what's up with that? If you review, you get a cookie!

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, or Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am merely using them for my twisted amusement.

This chapter has been BETA'D thanks to the ever-wonderful_ IDontNeedToReply_. Seriously, I'm in awe of you. Would you mind if I created a religion to you? Hah hah.

* * *

When lunchtime came around, Sasuke went into the cafeteria, immediately scanning for the pink hair he was so accustomed to see

When lunchtime came around, Sasuke went into the cafeteria, immediately scanning for the pink hair he was so accustomed to seeing. He allowed Naruto to tug him into the cafeteria line, though he was feeling anything but hungry. After a moment, his dark eyes spotted the pale pink hair at a lunch table all alone, its owner looking rather bored. Naruto, after talking loudly for a few moments and noticing his friend's lack of caustic replies, paused in his chattering and followed his friend's eye and grinned. "I'll go ahead and tell everyone that you won't be eating lunch with us today." The blonde grinned, obviously hiding his laughter, earning an embarrassed scowl. Against his will, his cerulean blue eyes flickered to the long purple hair that was easily seen in the sea of brown that surrounded it, and its owner looked up quickly. Hinata's dark silver eyes met his briefly and she smiled bashfully before lowering her head meekly once more.

He couldn't help but wonder if she was ever going to ask if he wanted to eat lunch with her, but after a moment of contemplating how she had always acted around him, he decided not to get his hopes up. Maybe he would ask her to eat lunch with him one of these days. He brightened at the thought; maybe he would take her to Ichiraku's, his favorite restaurant. Not like Sasuke, whose romance-ineptness left him with treating a girl to lunch in the _cafeteria _(that loser.)After seeing the long-haired, girly-looking man look up and glower at him, he decided maybe another time. The man's glower shifted effortlessly to the dark-haired man next to him, and Naruto took the time to spin around before the glare could return to him. He hurriedly paid for his lunch, with Sasuke right behind him, still silent. The two friends separated after that, both headed towards different tables.

Sasuke slid in across from Sakura, ignoring the glower that had been focused on him since he had been in the lunch line. "Your…brother doesn't seem very happy." He commented blithely, earning a carefree laugh. Sakura straightened, removing her hand from underneath her chin as her clear green eyes focused on him with a certain glitter to them that caused an unknown feeling to swell in his chest. Her food remained untouched in front of her, and she pushed it away in favor of placing her arms in front of her.

"No, I guess not. He found out you came over to visit me yesterday and wasn't too happy." She explained breezily, chuckling at her 'brother's' expense. She didn't seem to be bothered by it all, looking more amused than anything else. "So, how has the day been treating you, Uchiha-san?" She asked in what would have been construed as an official tone, if it weren't for the mischievous grin curving her lips. Sasuke arched an eyebrow before picking up his bottled water and popping it open easily before sipping at it.

"Not too bad, Hatake-san." He was surprised to note that he was willingly joining in on her teasing, even if his voice was gruff while doing it. The only other person he had ever teased was Naruto, and he preferred to think of that as 'insulting him until they wind up getting into a fistfight' instead of actually teasing. "Had a surprise pop quiz last period."

"Oh? How'd you do?"

He shot her an unbelievably arrogant look, complete with a cocked eyebrow and grade-A smirk of the very best kind. "Passed, of course." She rolled her eyes at his smug tone, un-bothered by the tone in his husky voice. _He and Neji really are alike._ She mused absently to herself. Not that she was planning on telling either one of them that: she liked her head where it was, thank you very much.

"That's good." She kept her voice and expression carefully bland, enjoying the almost hurt look he flashed her. She had to assume that it was a fake look, as she couldn't imagine Sasuke actually being hurt by anything verbal. She, unlike Sasuke, was well aware that they had been flirting on and off for the entire day, and found herself curious as to just how long it would take him to realize it as well. She could bet his reaction would be fun to watch. They collapsed into silence while Sasuke found his hunger once more and began to eat slowly. Sakura studied him intently, silently repulsed. Now that she had no reason to eat, the idea of food made her feel disgusted. After a moment, Sasuke looked up and swallowed the bite of a banana. She couldn't help herself as her gaze dropped briefly to his throat as it flexed, her mouth watering with venom for a different kind of hunger, before shoving the thirst away fiercely.

His black eyes met her dark green ones flatly. "What?"

She smiled wryly, shaking her head slightly. "Nothing. So, planning anything later?"

He smirked at her. "Are you asking me out?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You wish. No, I'm merely wondering if I should have to stalk you to make sure none of your 'girlfriends' approach you." She had to laugh at Sasuke's open grimace at the mention of his fangirls.

"There's no need. They've been leaving me alone."

"Huh. Maybe it's something in the air." She pretended to think for a moment, tapping her chin with a slim finger before shrugging. "That's good to know. I'd rather be your friend than your babysitter." They collapsed into silence for a few minutes while Sasuke started to eat once more, with Sakura studying him intently. "Oh, by the way – here are your notes.." She reached into her slightly open backpack and pulled out the stack of papers he had given her a couple days prior. She grinned at him, apparently not at all sheepish as he flipped through the notes to make sure they were all there before placing them neatly into the bag at his feet.

"I told you to have them back by the next day." He commented blandly. The pinkette shrugged.

"I wasn't here 'the next day', remember?" She defended quickly. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and when he spoke, his voice was that of someone talking to a younger child.

"No, but you did _see _me, didn't you?" She snorted at him, acting as if the thought hadn't occurred to her, which it had. (Yes, she's very happy in her world of denial, thank you.)

"Well, you should have reminded me." She replied indignantly, her forest green eyes flashing warningly at him. He liked that look on her, which seemed to emphasize her beauty even more than her normal smile in his opinion, and then decided that he would see if he could get her to make that expression more often.

"You should have remembered." He responded calmly, cocking a black eyebrow at her arrogantly. Her eyes widened briefly before immediately narrowing at him. He would have believed that she was honestly infuriated at him if it wasn't for the grin that was threatening to curve her lips upward. His eyes unknowingly flickered to her mouth, and the words flew out of his mouth before he even thought about saying them. "You are a rather intelligent person aren't you, Sa-ku-ra?" He practically purred out her name, watching in morbid, grudging glee as her eyes flew open at the sound of her name, and her jaw slackened briefly before she closed it so fast he wondered fleetingly if she had broken it.

She positively shook with anger, the smile still fighting to show. "You…you…bastard!" She struggled with saying it, as she forced her hands to unclench from the fists they had unconsciously tightened into. Her anger really was quite becoming, he mused absently to himself, before quickly discarding the thought into the dark recesses of his mind to never see the light of day again.

Sasuke allowed one corner of his mouth to droop in displeasure, as he drawled out, "I believe we've already covered that." She stared at him as if she wasn't quite sure what to say, and the bell rang right when she opened her mouth to give him a verbal lashing. She heard the barely-audible snickers of her family, who had probably been listening in, like the nose busy-bodies they were, and made a mental note to threaten them within an inch of their life if they ever told anybody that the great (albeit loud) Sakura had been stunned into silence by a mere mortal. Sasuke got to his feet effortlessly and tossed the remains of his lunch into the trash. She followed him swiftly before slipping a note into his back pocket before almost dancing off to her next class.

He reached into his pocket and pulled the note out, before Naruto found him and started demanding answers as to how his 'date' with Sakura had gone. In her now-familiar flowing script, five words were written; though they were still enough to get his heartbeat pumping a little more.  
_  
Come to my house tomorrow.  
_  
He wondered absently at the lack of a time, but decided that she would probably already know ahead of time that he was coming. He certainly wouldn't put it past her. With an odd little smirk hovering around his lips, he crumpled the note as he slid into the appropriate classroom with several minutes to spare. Luckily, he had none of his more annoying friends in this class, only Gaara, who was more of a mute than he was, and Shino, who hardly ever spoke to him. Knowing that it would be a while before Asuma returned from his lunch, Sasuke took a seat towards the back and propped his feet up on an empty chair. He found it amazing that Sarutobi Asuma had managed to make it as long as he had with his unbelievably hormonal wife. Kurenai had probably sent her husband on a wild goose chase for her lunch, and Asuma would be late yet again.

* * *

Sakura sat idly in her classroom, staring blankly at the window directly in front of her. The bell right after lunch had the longest passing period, of nine minutes instead of seven, to allow all of the seniors and juniors time to get back on campus and into class. She hadn't unpacked the books she needed from her backpack, which was sitting neatly at her feet. The classroom was almost entirely empty, as most of the other students were out mingling with her friends. Sakura had briefly considered tracking down one of her family members to talk, as she knew all of their class schedules by heart, but had decided not to. She didn't want to know what they would be doing in the bathroom, positive that their PDA would make her feel ill.

Her thoughts were currently focused on a certain raven-haired man, and imaging what his response had been to the note she had deposited in his back pocket. She wondered briefly if any swear words had been involved, and then grinned broadly at the thought. She hadn't asked him out with any type of romance involved, it was more like she had gotten sick of Neji's overprotective hovering, and had decided to irk him even more. Which was why she had told Sasuke to come to her house during the day, so she would make sure Neji saw him. She had decided not to tell Sasuke about her plan, though she had no doubts about him wanting to do it.. She was almost giddy at the thought, and she grinned again while imagining her older brother's reaction.

Thank god it was going to be cloudy tomorrow, in case they decided to go for a walk.

She had already decided not to show him the painting of him she had started yesterday; the one of him looking flustered with a barely noticeable blush to his cheeks as he refused to meet her eyes. The image had been so cute she had dedicated it to her memory immediately, and had began to sketch and then paint it later on after he had left. Shikamaru, who had always been there as a supportive friend, unlike his mate who could be a bit (quite) harsh when she wanted to be, and as un-supportive as one person could get, had already seen it and complimented her on it. Ino had seen it in her mate's mind and had merely rolled her eyes, though Sakura got the distinctive impression that the beautiful blonde secretly liked the picture.

She was looking forward to getting home and continuing on it, as she had barely started painting after allowing her obsessive-compulsive side to kick in with the drawing and making sure it was perfect, like the way she had remembered it. She grinned again, this time with anticipation. When the bell shattered through her thoughts with a shrill scream, she didn't even flinch, merely twisting agilely in her seat as a wave of students came crashing into the room loudly. She refrained from snorting immaturely at them, as she merely rested her chin on the palm of her hand. The teacher strode in a few moments after that, and class soon started, much to the grumbles and groans of the other students, which only grew louder at the mention of a pop quiz.

* * *

At two in the afternoon on the next day, Sasuke found himself standing outside Sakura's front door, wary to knock, and found out what the other nut-members of her family were like. With a sigh, Sasuke shoved his hand into the pocket of his artfully faded black jeans that had just a touch of bagginess to them, and lifted the other fist to knock on the wooden panel. A moment later, the door was thrown open and a tall, curvy, violet-haired woman dressed in a calf-length, tight black skirt with an equally dark, tight shirt covering her torso stood in the doorway. Her skin was the exact shade as Sakura's, though her eyes were several shades lighter, to a dark ocher. She was also stunning in the looks department, though Sasuke didn't care enough to analyze her face more definitively. A grin that suddenly made him very wary appeared on the woman's face. "Yes?" The woman replied impatiently, and he had to assume that this was Sakura's mother.

"Hi, I'm-" He began, before the voice he had been listening for interrupted him. The woman was taller than him by a few inches, and he blinked at the realization, feeling disgruntled at the fact. As long as Sakura stayed shorter than him, he would be fine.

"Mom, that's Sasuke. Quit intimidating him and let him in already." He couldn't see Sakura from his current position, as he skimmed the well-lit room briefly. Immediately, Anko relaxed and stepped aside to allow him in, gesturing towards the inside dramatically. He saw what Sakura had meant when she said 'eccentric.' The grin on her face became mischievous, putting him on edge even more, if possible.

"Yes, please come in…Sasu-chan." He froze for a split second at the childish nickname, and then stepped inside quickly. His pause wasn't missed by the other occupants in the house, who immediately started to snicker. His face heated slightly, and he scowled darkly to make up for it. Sakura's laughter was louder than the rest, before she was there in front of him. Today, she was wearing faded blue jeans that hugged her hips and accentuated the slimness of her thighs, before falling at the calf. A light green tank top hugged her figure and dipped into her cleavage just enough to make him do a quick double take. She had strappy sandals on her feet, which boosted her up a number of inches: now she almost came up to his chin as she grinned broadly at him.  
"Sorry about that. She overheard me once, and has refused to call you anything but that since then. I even offered her 'pretty boy', but she refused." Her voice was slightly dejected, as if she was upset that the immature nickname was no longer just her's. "I'll just have to think of another, more insulting nickname. I was thinking Sasuke-kun." She warped the pronunciation of his name to where it sounded more like 'Sauce-kay-koon', grinning mischievously at him the entire time. Sasuke decided he didn't mind the obviously affectionate intention of the suffix on his name coming from her as long as she pronounced it correctly. She took his head, and he had to fight back the shiver that wanted to erupt over him, as her icy skin touched him. She either didn't notice or didn't care, as she tugged him into the living room that he had been in only a few days prior.

The room was filled with every member of her family, all eight of them. The couch was taken by three of them, as were two of the chairs. Everyone else was standing, shifting their weight from foot to foot, or sitting on the floor. Only one seemed displeased to see him, and this one person he ignored stubbornly. The girl with buns was sitting at the longhaired man's feet, staring at the Uchiha with blatant curiosity. A masked man with awry dark silver hair, who he assumed to be Sakura's father Kakashi, was sitting on the couch, along with the long-haired blonde and the pony tailed brunette. "Shika-kun, you stole my seat." Sakura chided immediately, and he studiously ignored the flash of jealousy at the affectionate nickname that ripped through his chest like a jackhammer.

'Shika-kun' merely grumbled under his breath, too low to hear, but refused to move. The pinkette at Sasuke's side stared at him for a few more seconds before turning to the taller man next to her. "Time for proper introductions!" She chirped happily, shooting a brief, murderous glare in warning at the girly man who had been glowering at Sasuke since he had first laid eyes on him, before looking away. "Okay, you should already know Ino-pig, and Shikamaru, better known as 'Shika' or 'Shika-kun'." She pointed the two of them out, her voice undeniably warm on both of their names. "This is my dad, Kakashi." She leaned delicately on the arm of the chair, as she put her hand on the silver-haired man's shoulders, who smiled slightly underneath his mask, and squeezing softly. "The girl with buns is Tenten," 'Tenten' waved cheerily at him. "And the long haired, 'girly-looking one' is Neji.." She channeled his words from a few days prior with a knowing smirk, and judging by the intensifying scowl on Neji's face, she had told him the comment.

"You already met my mom, Anko. Sorry if she scared you a bit, she's a bit crazy." A loud, immature 'am not!' immediately came from the kitchen, which was where the purple-haired woman had disappeared to, moments after letting him in. "And finally, Hinata-chan. She's a timid little thing." Sakura's tone of voice was like that of a doting older sister at the name, gesturing towards the purple-haired girl who had been standing in the corner. The girl looked up and her dark silver eyes clashed with his black ones, before dropping them and muttering a soft greeting. After getting a closer look at the girl, Sasuke wasn't sure what Naruto saw in her, but shrugged it off. Maybe it was Naruto's Jesus complex kicking in; the girl looked like she was going to cry at any moment, and that had probably triggered Naruto's protective instincts.

"And that's everyone. Everyone, this is Uchiha Sasuke. Be nice, or I'll rip your intestines up with a cheese grater and then put them on a salad for you to eat." Her voice was undeniably cheerful, and Sasuke couldn't help but wince at the explicit threat, and he definitely wasn't the only one. Neji stiffened slightly, knowing that the threat was aimed pointedly at him. Tenten rubbed at his calf soothingly with a calloused hand, before smiling kindly at the obviously awkward Uchiha and ignoring Neji's quiet scoff.

"It's nice to meet you, Uchiha-san." The buns-wearing girl responded formally. She had a slight accent to her voice- something that one could only get if they were born several decades before and had had a proper upbringing. "Treat Sakura nice, or I'll rip out your fingernails with a senbon and shove them down your throat and into your liver." Her voice was considerably harder on the vivid threat, and Neji couldn't contain his smirk at the uncomfortable human in front of him.

What _was_ it with this family and creative threats? Sasuke wondered to himself, secretly pleased when the silver-haired man let out a cluck and began to chide the two.

"Now, now, Sakura, Tenten. Be careful what you say in front of our guest. We don't want him to start thinking that we're sadists or anything." Kakashi chided the two gently, though with an undercurrent of a completely different warning that Sasuke didn't understand, and wasn't sure he wanted to.

Too late, pal.

The two girls smiled sheepishly, their golden eyes reflecting something wary as they flickered at him. The flash was suddenly gone from Sakura's eyes, as she tugged on Sasuke's hand lightly and they sunk into a sitting position on the floor. He had forgotten that she had been grasping his hand firmly, and was now surprised to feel that his hand was going numb. As if seeming to realize this, the small pinkette dropped his hand briskly and he tucked the cold appendage into his lap before speaking. "Thank you for having me over. I hope I'm not intruding on anything." His ingrained manners forced him to say the rather bland statement. Kakashi chuckled, waving a hand dismissively.

"Oh, nonsense. We're always pleased to meet our daughter's boyfriends." Sakura immediately looked flustered at her father's teasing, and began to protest loudly, much to the amusement of the other occupants. _Boyfriend?_ The Uchiha repeated to himself dimly. Just what exactly had Sakura been telling her family about their relationship? If she had been telling them that they were dating, then he could understand why Neji had been so acerbic towards him lately. Over brotherly protectiveness and all that.

"Dad, we're not dating, no matter what you say." Sakura was saying when he finally snapped out of his thoughts, and he turned to look at her automatically. Her expression was no longer embarrassed, more determined as she tried to persuade her father. Sasuke felt a little offended at the idea of her arguing so. Was the idea of dating him that bad? _He _certainly didn't think so.

Suddenly, a loud snort came from the blonde on the couch, almost as if she had heard his thoughts or had been able to read his face or something of the sort. The more time he spent around her, the more he became convinced that her 'pig' nickname really was quite accurate. Kakashi was currently saying, "Whatever you say, Sakura dear," his tone of voice hinting that he was obviously unmoved, though clearly light-hearted. Sasuke found himself slowly liking the silver-haired man; it was obvious the older man loved his family and didn't mind a good teasing. Sakura huffed before getting to her feet.

"C'mon Sasuke, let's go for a walk." Sasuke could only allow the small woman to pull him to his feet and out the door with more strength than her frail frame seemed to be able to handle. Once they were outside, the Uchiha removed his hand forcefully from Sakura's freezing grasp and followed her down the stairs and around the building. "We probably should have gone out the back, but I don't want to know what mom would have done to you." She commented blithely, shrugging. "C'mon, there's a trail out back here." She gestured, her steps practically flowing as she spun in a half-circle to face him. She bent over slightly with her arms behind her in a neat fashion. She smiled shyly at him, before spinning around abruptly in a graceful movement.

Next to her silent steps, Sasuke felt like a train compared to her airboat. He followed her through some brush to an easy, smooth trail. She walked next to him, and he pretended not to feel the sparks that occurred whenever her skin brushed his accidentally. "So, what'd you think of my family?" She asked him after several long moments of silence..

"Their a bunch of nuts." He answered bluntly, without a beat. She laughed, obviously not insulted by his blunt comment.

"Maybe so, but their _my_ nuts."

"You fit in perfectly." Sasuke muttered under his breath, and she pretended not to hear the comment. An odd little smile was playing about her lips, and an almost wistful look in her eyes as she glanced up at him briefly before looking ahead. Her behavior was confusing the teenager more and more, though he was too stubborn to say anything about it. He didn't do anything when she slipped her hand into his, pressing her cold palm against his warm one. Her grasp remained loose, and didn't squeeze his hand or anything of that sort, which he was thankful for.

The two continued to walk around on the trail behind her house until well after dark. Finally, they decided to go back in, as Sasuke wanted to get a jumpstart on his weekend homework. Sakura's response had been an eye roll, and an airy comment of 'goody two-shoes.' He had neglected to tell her that he was anything but a goody two-shoes, deciding that he didn't want her image of him to be tarnished at all. When they entered her house once more, they came in through the back door. Most of her family was crowded around the table, talking loudly. The conversation swelled effortlessly to include Sakura and him, even if he didn't say anything. Her family was undeniably kind, and he found himself wanting to hang around longer, but unable to do so.

He finally dragged himself away from Sakura's side, which he hadn't left at all, something that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of her family. His eyes had been locked on her figure for the better part of half an hour, ever since she had done that swishing movement with her hips and making it that much more obvious to him. After a gracious thank-you, Kakashi walked Sasuke to the door. The older man thanked him for coming over, and then handed him a thin, green-covered book with a surreptitious wink. He flipped the book over and could have rolled his eyes.

Icha Icha Tactics.

Giving a gruff thank you, Sasuke walked down the few stairs to her house and got into his car before tossing the offensive book into the backseat. None of Sakura's family had any reason to know that most of the things in the book he had probably done at one time or another hisself. He pulled out of the driveway swiftly, before driving off smoothly with one thought in mind, and it wasn't homework. Sasuke drove in the opposite direction of his house, and the town altogether, as he headed to the next town about twenty minutes away.

Thirty minutes later, he was standing in front of another, but entirely different, front door. He knocked firmly twice, and the door opened quickly. Red eyes behind slender black glasses blinked owlishly at him. "Sasuke-kun?" He didn't respond, other than to walk those few needed steps and to bring the girl into a bruising kiss. He slammed her roughly against the wall as he kicked the door shut behind him aggressively. They stumbled automatically into the nearest bedroom, Sasuke with only one thing in his head as he shut the door behind them with his foot.

Nobody left the room that night, and instead of seeing bright red hair on the pillow, he saw short pale pink. It was paler and smaller breasts that pushed against his chest and softer, more delicate sounds as he took the girl over and over again in a bruising, deliberate action, ignoring her repeated soft cries of pain around the screams of his name.

* * *

End of Chapter five.

Yeah, I don't know about the end there. It seems crappy to me, massively, but I definitely needed to do it for the plot. ;)

And no, I didn't make Karin a whore. All shall be explained in chapter six. No flames, please. I'm kinda iffy about this chapter. .

Who liked the bit of NaruHina I threw in? I couldn't help it, I love that couple almost as much as I love ItaSaku, which is saying something.

I know that the SasuSaku romance is taking a while, but Sasuke is a romantic-stupid man, so its hardly a wonder why. ;)

**Reviewer Replies:**

IDontNeedToReply: You ramble a lot, you know that? Hah hah. And yes, I had to make her forehead slightly less large, but its still definitely still there! Hah hah. And yeah, Sasuke's too thick-headed to be bothered by something as silly as Sakura's sarcasm. Hah hah. I'm glad you like how I did Naruto. I thought it would be fun to have Naruto, who most people consider to be an idiot among idiots, to notice the flirting, while Sasuke, who is a genius, to miss it completely. And thanks! I love writing Naruto. He's one of my favorite characters, so I definitely had to add him in. Pizza? Hmmm... that makes me hungry. lol. I turned sixteen several months ago, actually. And thank you, I try really hard to create unusual plots that leave people going, "what the hell?" I always love getting that reaction. And yeah, you made me laugh. Alot. Um, I don't quite know what to say to the last part of your review. Cheesecake, meatloaf? What? Hell no, I wouldn't forget about the sparkle skin! That's like my favorite thing! Yeah, I do. That's like my dream kitchen, and I figured it would be a good way to show Anko's...weirdness. Hah hah. Most people have pets, and she had to tell him Ino was allergic, because they feed off of animals, which naturally means the pet wouldn't last long. Hah hah. That's all. And I think he's 5'8. I'm not quite sure on that, as a few sites I checked had him listed as five-seven. But I decided one inch wouldn't care much. I definitely know that Sakura right about 5'4 with her boots on, but I made her shorter for this. Hah hah.

CelestialMaidenofSilence: Um, yes, Sasuke's family is dead and won't be making any appearances unless I decide to do flashbacks or something. I won't say how they died. But his family will play a good part in the story, I promise. Thank you, this is a SasuSaku story, so most of the focus will be on them. The others will kinda be in the background, though I'll occasionally bring them into the spotlight for short bursts. I'm glad you like this story so much!

NamineInWonderland: Yay, a new reader! That always makes me so happy! I hope you continue to like this story, and make sure you continue to tell me what you think!

That's all for this chapter.

I think I'll go hide under a rock now. -slouches off-


	6. Scorpius

Chapter six!

Sorry if this one is a little late, everyone. I sent it to my beta and then she sent it back to me yesterday, and then I didn't have enough time left to post it and add in my A/Ns and the Reviewer Replies and everything. So its coming on today.

And the reviews weren't half bad, everyone. I was expecting something along the lines of 'OMG! Karin is such a W.H.O.R.E! I can't BELIEVE you brought that bitch into this story' or something like that, just with a few more swear words. Hah hah. So, thanks everyone. Make sure you read this chapter and then read the Reviewer Replies!

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, or Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am merely using them for my twisted amusement. And any of the other things that I may mention, such as an iPhone, or the various bands, I lay no claim to them either.

Beta'd.

* * *

He stared blearily at the ceiling as he woke slowly

He stared blearily at the ceiling as he woke slowly. Deep breathing next to him informed him of where he was, and the...actions of the night before hit his tired brain like a bowling ball.. Sasuke jack-knifed up, feeling a brief moment of light-headedness with the abrupt action, before rubbing his forehead and looking to the left of his head. Tousled red hair was sprawled out on the dark pillows, half-covering a face that some would consider pretty once they adjusted to her brashness.. "Crap." The single word alone didn't cover all of what he was feeling by far, as Sasuke quickly swung himself out of bed before going in search of his clothes, which were scattered all over the room. His boxers hung from the doorknob to the attached bathroom, with his pants on the other side.. As he went around the room in search of his clothes, the other figure on the bed stirred, blinking sleepily at the raven-haired man's bare back.

"Sasuke-kun?" the redhead asked tiredly, sitting up slowly and tucking the sheet around her modestly. Why she was doing it now, after all of their encounters, he had no idea. He began to get dressed, not at all self-conscious concerning his nudity.

"Go back to sleep, Karin." He told her gruffly, as he sat down on the bed briefly to put on his shoes. The red-haired woman took his advice, collapsing back onto the bed limply. He could hardly blame her for her exhaustion; he had been rather vivacious and rough the night before. Luckily, Karin could handle all of what he threw at her. He was no fool, he knew the redhead cared for him and he selfishly used that against her. She gave him relief whenever he needed it, and in return he gave her closeness to him. After checking in the mirror to make sure he didn't have any lipstick smears visible on him, he grimaced when he realized that the smell of sex was clinging to him like a second skin. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he decided that he had enough time to take a quick shower at home before school, even if he had to break a couple speed limits to get there.

Minutes later, he was pulling out of Karin's driveway and heading back to the city. Less than twenty-five minutes later, he was entering his house and heading upstairs to change and take a shower. It was only a quick one, and he didn't feel nearly as clean as he would have liked, but it would have to do. With only a towel around his waist, he headed across the hall towards his bedroom to change.

When he pulled into the western parking lot, Naruto was waiting for him with his stereotypical stupid grin on. The grin was broader than normal, and after a moment, Sasuke saw the shy, lilac-haired girl that Sakura had introduced him to the day before, Hinata, standing next to Naruto, gazing at the tall blonde with an adoring look in her eyes. As soon as he got out of the car, his best friend greeted him with a loud, "Hey, Sasuke-teme!" The blonde paused for a second, eyeing the Uchiha's slightly rumpled clothes and his rather unkempt hair, and the bags under his eyes. "You went to go see Karin again, didn't you?" The blonde really did know him too well, Sasuke decided with an eye roll.

"Hn." Sasuke removed his books from the backseat before shutting the door hard. Naruto's chipper attitude seemed to go away a little bit after that, and the Uchiha knew that the Uzumaki disliked Karin, and hated it whenever Sasuke saw her. He brushed past the blonde and completely ignored the silent, lilac-haired girl. Apparently unable to take a hint, Naruto followed him.

"I can't believe you went to go see her, teme!" The blonde exclaimed loudly. "I mean, especially since obviously there's something going on between you and Sakura-chan, I would have thought you would have quit seeing her by now."

"W-Who's K-K-Karin?" Hinata stammered out shyly, and with a start, Sasuke realized this was the first time he had ever heard her speak without having to strain to hear her. A moment or so later, Naruto's comment about Sakura sunk in and he stiffened for a moment, wondering what the blonde was referring to, before deciding to ignore it and start walking once more.

"She's this whore Sasuke-teme goes to see whenever he needs some 'relief.'" Naruto answered bluntly, open disdain in his voice. Sasuke spun around to glower at his closest friend.

"Karin is not a whore." He growled out. He might not have any romantic feelings for the redhead, but he didn't want her to gain the wrong impression from the public. Naruto remained unmoved, the look in his crystal blue eyes stony as he stared down at his friend, but Hinata gave Sasuke a frightened look in her dark silver eyes, resembling a deer caught in the headlights as she instinctively stepped closer to the tan blonde, close enough to have the edge of the baggy shirt she was wearing brush his arm. Black and blue clashed for a moment, before Naruto let out an easy smile.

"Fine, teme. Whatever you say." It was obvious the blonde didn't believe him, but the raven-haired man turned on his heel and walked away sharply in search of his locker. Naruto wrapped his arm firmly around Hinata, and ushered her in another direction without bidding his friend goodbye. Sasuke ignored the almost malevolent aura that seemed to be hovering around Naruto, as he hurriedly removed what he needed from his locker before slamming it closed harshly. His first period was close, and he slid in just as he noticed some of his fangirls a few feet away looking in his direction deviously. The classroom was empty for once, and Sasuke claimed the seat often fought-over between him and Sakura.

He only had to wait a few moments before the classroom door was opened once more, and familiar pink hair came into view. He could practically feel his heart beat rise as she glanced up and smiled slightly at him. His brow furrowed slightly. It wasn't her normal heartfelt, cheeky smile. It was a smile that clearly said she was depressed, but trying not to show it. Without saying a word, she brushed past him and sat down near the back, close to where one of her family members sat. Bewildered, Sasuke turned around slightly in his seat to look at her. She was looking anywhere but at him, her dark green, just-a-few-shades-away-from-black-now-eyes currently fixed on the window that revealed one of the many courtyards. Even her spiky pink hair, that usually seemed to quiver whenever she was excited or happy, seemed duller than normal.

Not too much longer after that, the blonde, Ino, and the brunette, Shikamaru, came into the classroom, their dark eyes seeming to glower at him accusingly as they brushed past him without a word to sit next to Sakura in the back. Sasuke could have sworn it felt like the room temperature had dropped several degrees when they had arrived. Wondering what their deal was, Sasuke ignored them and turned around to face the front again. His thoughts, however, remained focused on the rosette and why she was looking so upset this morning. Had he done something to offend her?

Just like that, his muscles locked together in realization. Hinata had been around when he and Naruto had had the discussion about Karin. Hinata was related to Ino, Shikamaru, and Sakura. It wouldn't be that hard for her to track down Ino, who had first period with Sakura, to tell her about Karin, and then for Ino to tell Sakura.

Shit.

He had already begun to think of ways to explain to the rosette, before pausing quickly. Why he was so worried about her reaction was beyond him. It wasn't like they were dating and he'd cheated on her or anything. The fact that he was willing to explain to a girl he had only known a little over a week was troubling. He never bothered to explain himself to _Naruto_, who was someone he had known for years. Still, he couldn't shake the fact that he was feeling guilty, especially since he had lied to her face about doing homework. Especially the guilt trip Naruto unknowingly had subjected him to earlier. Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a glare at the wall in front of him, as Naruto had yet to come in and he had the feeling glaring at the Hatakes behind him would be a very bad idea.

So he was stuck with the wall.

Naruto didn't waltz in until a few moments before the bell rang, and upon seeing Sasuke's sour mood and the glares that were being shot at his back, the blonde wisely remained quiet as he sat down next to the Uchiha. Almost immediately, Sasuke's glare was being shot at him, but after years of being the sullen man's best friend, he was now immune to the Glares o' Doom. He was well aware that a dopey grin was on his face, though it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Hinata had allowed him to kiss her. It was only on the cheek, and she had moved away quickly in embarrassment, but it was still something. The very thought cheered him up immensely, and his grin grew wider.

"Why are you so fucking happy?" Sasuke muttered waspishly, earning a shrug with that stupid grin still on.

"You know, you're usually in a better mood after you visit Karin." Naruto commented casually. Sasuke's knuckles crashed into the back of his head with all the strength of an avalanche with a furtive glance at the stony-faced Hatakes, causing the blonde's head to slam into his desk. Hard. Wincing, Naruto lifted his head tentatively, unsurprised when a headache started pounding in his temples. "Ow, teme." He massively understated his friend's overreaction, as he rubbed at the bump that was rapidly forming underneath his spiky blonde hair.. He was saved from being yelled at when Kurenai sauntered in, looking rather pleased with herself and not at all like her normal cranky self.

"No homework or tests today, everyone." She announced at large, as the entire class blinked in surprise. None of them were willing to risk getting homework in order to ask what had put her in such a good mood, and so the entire class was silent as she quickly wrote the assignment on the board before telling them to get started, still acting rather cheerful. Luckily, the assignment was difficult enough to keep Sasuke's mind from wandering over to the pink-haired girl behind him, which he was thankful for, along with the cold sensation that had seemed to make itself at home in his chest when he had realized she was completely ignoring him.

In second period she continued to ignore him, sitting as far away from him as she could. The cold sensation in his chest spread when she pulled out her iPhone and plugged in her headphones, all without looking at him. He could barely concentrate during second period due to the fact that he was fretting over Sakura. No note was dropped on his desk telling him to eat lunch with her, and she brushed past him on her way out of the classroom. When he tried to follow her, she disappeared out of sight. Who he did manage to find was one Hatake; Neji, looking _extremely_ pissed off. Sasuke paused in his stride, staring at the taller man challengingly.

"Uchiha... Leave Sakura alone." Neji practically snarled.

"Make me." As soon as the words left his lips, Sasuke realized that it was a rather stupid thing to say. Neji's eyes narrowed into slits, his back straightening infinitesimally.

"Neji. Calm down. You're making a scene," A voice from behind the longhaired man said, sounding soothing. Almost immediately, the effeminate man relaxed, as familiar oak brown buns came into view. Tenten placed a hand on Neji's shoulder, her dark brown eyes narrowing in anger at Sasuke despite her calm words. "Uchiha."

"What?" Sasuke snapped.

"Do you remember what I told you not twenty-four hours ago?" Her voice was still calm, though her eyes shot sparks at him.

"Hn." He did indeed remember what she had told him, the threat having been burned into his memory.

_Treat Sakura nice, or I'll rip out your fingernails with a senbon and shove them down your throat and into your liver._

She apparently took that as a yes. "And you didn't do that, did you?" He didn't answer, settling for an intimidating glare instead, which she promptly ignored. "Be glad we're in a public place, Uchiha." Her voice was noticeably harder, letting him know that if they were alone, he would have been in several pieces by now.

He surprised himself when he finally spoke. "I just want to apologize."

"Don't you think you've done enough damage?" Neji cut in, his eyes icy, while his voice was perfectly flat and flawlessly controlled. Sasuke blinked, confused at the rhetorical question. Neji's gaze was hard, as his intelligent mind easily recalled Sakura's reaction when Ino had picked up on Hinata's frantic thoughts and passed it along to them.. First had come shock, the pink-haired girl's eyes widening with her jaw slackening, then came disbelief, and finally: complete and utter misery. Within minutes, she had fixed her expression to that of a blank mask, which they were all excellent at using. Her eyes were blanker than normal, which had irritated the man. He was so used to the spirited Sakura; the one who gave him hell over the littlest thing, and gleefully kicked his ass back into line whenever she thought he was being unreasonable. This new, depressed Sakura just seemed wrong somehow.

The light hadn't returned to her eyes at all, and the last two class periods with the Uchiha obviously hadn't done any good. She had been so out of it that she had missed their presence completely on her way to her third period class. He had briefly considered following to make sure she wouldn't run into a wall or a locker, but when he saw Sasuke, that very thought had flown from his mind, replaced by a single word. Kill.

Thank god Tenten had seen his intentions and intervened before he could do any real damage to the smaller man.

"I didn't do anything." Sasuke argued angrily. Silver eyes flashing, Neji opened his mouth to say something, before Tenten placed her hand on his upper arm gently.

"The bell's about to ring, Neji. We should get going." She told him softly, her eyes on the crowd that was beginning to gather around them. Giving a noncommittal grunt, the longhaired brunette spun sharply on his heel and followed his mate through the throng to their next class. Sasuke was left staring stupidly at the place where Sakura's siblings had been only a few moments before, soon snapping out of it and hurrying off to his next class before the teacher would mark him as late. Loud whispers surrounded him from nosy students as he passed, which promptly earned them a murderous glare. They all quieted and scattered after that, all of them remembering distinctly Sasuke's fury when properly agitated..

* * *

When lunch finally came around, he glanced immediately over at the table Sakura had been staking out for them the last few days, only to find several unfamiliar students sitting there. He then looked at the Hatake table, only to see the normal pink hair surrounded by brown. With a barely audible sigh, Sasuke turned to sit at the table where his other friends always sat. It was already mostly full, and he slid in to sit between Gaara and Kiba. The brunette immediately grinned at him. "Haven't seen you in a while. I figured you ditched us for Sakura."

"Hn." Sasuke picked up the sandwich he had absently grabbed for lunch and bit into it. He wasn't in the mood to listen to Kiba's ramblings, and he tuned him out, with his black eyes locked on the carnation-pink hair that was seared into his memory.

"-I would too, if I had that ass waiting for me." Kiba was saying, and after a moment, it registered in Sasuke's mind that he was referring to Sakura. His hand clenched into a tight fist underneath the table as he turned a savage glare onto the Inuzuka. Kiba immediately faltered at the absolutely murderous look in the Uchiha's black eyes, and fell silent. Across the table from Sasuke, Naruto snorted ineloquently.

"Ignore him, dog-breath. He doesn't want anyone messing with 'his woman.'" The blonde heckled them with a loud laugh.

"Sakura is not 'my woman', dobe. You're delusional." Sasuke muttered, turning his attention back to his lunch as if it was the most interesting thing he'd seen all day. Which, of course, wasn't the case. He would have preferred to be looking at carnation-pink head of hair across the cafeteria…

"What'd you say, blondie?" Kiba, predictably, flew into a rage at Naruto's insult, and a loud argument erupted between the two of them. Sasuke ignored their loud fight, trying to find the energy to eat. Fighting back the urge to sigh, Sasuke pushed his lunch away and stood up. Naruto paused in insulting the dog-lover to look up at his closest friend with a knowing gleam in his sky blue eyes.

"Make sure you say you're sorry, teme." He informed the Uchiha gleefully, earning a half-hearted glare in return. He felt Gaara's mildly curious jade eyes on him but refused to meet them, as they reminded him too much of a certain person's darker green eyes. Ignoring his friends' snickers, Sasuke strode across the cafeteria with his eyes locked on pale pink hair, just in case he decided to lose his nerve. Quickly, he felt Neji's stony gaze on him, but ignored it as he tapped the rosette on the shoulder. She turned around to look at him, her face carefully blank, though her eyes were dull.

He didn't like that look on her.

"What do you want, Sasuke?" She asked him flatly. He glanced furtively at her family.

"Can I talk to you?" he queried gruffly.. "Alone?" He added, seeing Shikamaru begin to stand. Sakura turned to look at Ino, who nodded once. Sakura got to her feet after that, staring up at him impassively. Without another sound, Sasuke whirled around and stalked out of the cafeteria. He didn't need to hear Sakura behind him to know she was following him, and once they were in a deserted hallway, he spun around to face her. "What did I do?" He demanded. She blinked owlishly at him. "Whatever it is, I'm sorry. There, are you happy? Now get out of my head!"

She stared at him, as if torn between being amused and angry. "Sasuke, what _are _you going on about?" She asked him finally, her voice no longer quite as flat as it had once been. Sasuke halted for a moment before cursing at himself. Of course she had no idea that he hadn't been able to get her out of his head the entire day, causing several of his teachers to comment on his absentness.

"Nothing." He grunted, looking away from her sheepishly. They collapsed into silence, before Sakura broke it awkwardly.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Hn."

She apparently took this as a yes. "Are you a pimp?" She blurted out loudly. He stared, completely taken aback by the question, and unsure how to answer for several long moments.

"Last time I checked, no. What would give you that idea?" He answered slowly.

"It's nothing. It's just that when I finally heard about it, Ino had made it sound like you had gone off and screwed several girls. Which made me curious, naturally." He refrained from correcting her by telling her only one, having the feeling it would gain a negative reaction from the short girl.

"Well, I'm not."

"No bitches?" He wanted to laugh at how the crude words sounded in her bell-like voice, but managed to turn it into a smirk..

"None."

"And no whorehouses?"

"Nope." She fell silent after that, and he couldn't refrain from adding on, "I don't have any purple suits either." She looked flustered after that, and quickly proceeded to shoot him a glare. This time he did chuckle, and she paused at the rich, deep sound. He caught her staring and immediately asked, "What?"

"You should laugh more often." She merely responded, before hastily continuing. "It might make people think that the stick up your ass disintegrated or something." He immediately scowled at her, his cheeks flushing slightly. She continued to watch him with a quirked eyebrow, looking vaguely amused. "Can I ask you something else?"

"I'm not a whore either, if that's what you're asking." He immediately responded, earning an exaggerated eye roll.

"No, that's not it, you immature idiot. I was going to ask if you felt like going on another walk this Sunday?" This time, he was the one to cock an eyebrow at the question, his lips curving upwards in a smug smirk.

"It sounds like you're asking me out, Sa-ku-ra." He drawled her name out lazily, his voice unknowingly dropping several notches. She let out a loud, inelegant snort at the suggestion, shrugging her shoulders in a very blasé manner.

"If you want it to be, I guess." Her response surprised him, though he recovered quickly. She took his silence for a confirmation. "Be there at noon." The forecast said it was going to be sunny on Sunday, and she had decided to say 'fuck it' to Neji and their stupid rules and let the poor boy know. She now had to admit that there was something going on between them -even if the other party had no idea- with the possibility of going somewhere. She wondered briefly how he would take it, and then prayed that it would be well. Sakura had the feeling it would go well, as it took a lot to surprise him. Hinata was probably going to have to tell Naruto soon as well, as they were most definitely in a relationship by now.

"What brought this on?" Sasuke's voice broke into her musings, and she smiled easily up at him before shrugging again nonchalantly.

"You've been wondering about us for a while, right?" She asked, stepping closer to him as her voice dropped several notches. Sasuke started at their closeness, watching as she looked up at him curiously through her thick, long eyelashes. He managed to nod slowly. "I figured you deserved to know."

"What about your family?"

She let out a sharp bark of laughter. "If they don't already know, they will shortly. Truth be told, I've been considering this for a while, but I'm too big of a chicken to do anything about it." She answered honestly. "But I don't care about them. I just hope you can handle it." Her voice dropped as she mused to herself. Sasuke wanted to comment on their closeness, which was close enough for him to smell the delicious scent that seemed to waft from her, but decided against it.

"Don't worry about me. I am an Uchiha, after all." He answered arrogantly, and she snorted a half-laugh with an eye roll before stepping back. Sasuke refused to acknowledge the kernel of disappointment that made itself at home behind his ribs.

"Whatever you say, you macho thing, you." Her voice was definitely sarcastic, with an undertone of something Sasuke didn't quite register. Affection, maybe? He shook off the thought quickly. Her expression as she studied him was tentative, and definitely calculating as she scanned his body with a clinical air to her. Whatever she found was deemed satisfactory, as her expression smoothed and she looked back up at him brightly. "I probably should be getting back to my family. I have a feeling they're just about frantic, probably thinking that you dragged me off to have your way with me or something." She rolled her eyes, before scanning him once, and amending, "Though I don't think I would mind much if you did."

Sasuke stiffened at the suggestive phrase, wondering just where she was planning on going with this. She laughed at his expression, a true, belly-deep laugh. When she looked back up at him, the cheerful shimmer that had returned to her dark eyes made something swell in his chest, almost enough to stop his breathing. "Anyways, I have to get going. Ja ne, Sasuke." She tossed him a casual wave as she turned around sharply and disappeared back the way they came. Sasuke stayed where he was for a moment, part of him bemused at the silly girl, and another part of him wondering just how many cold showers she would unknowingly subject him to, especially if she kept wearing revealing shirts like the one she had on.

_May God have mercy. _He mentally groaned to himself, before following the hallway back to the cafeteria. When he returned to his seat, he was unsurprised to note that his lunch was missing, part of it smeared on Naruto's left cheek. The blonde didn't look sheepish, merely expectant as he waited for his friend's outburst. Instead, Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're throwing that away, dobe." He told him calmly, pointing to his mostly devoured lunch. Naruto lifted a yellow eyebrow at the lack of an outburst, before nodding once and glancing over at the rosette, who had returned to her family with her characteristic grin on and looking significantly more cheerful than she had when they had left the cafeteria only a few minutes ago.

_Sakura-chan's doing more good for teme than she knows.. _The blonde mused to himself, before catching the eye of Hinata and flashing her a cheeky grin. She buried her face into her arms with a muffled squeak, and Naruto laughed affectionately, his eyes warm as he studied her form for a moment before returning to his seat.

* * *

"You forgave him just like that?" Ino asked incredulously, earning an airy nod. "Why? He was a total ass to you!"

"And he apologized." Sakura pointed out rationally. "And considering just how arrogant that boy can be, it must have been one heck of a blow to his pride in order to do it." Shikamaru grunted his agreement, earning an elbow shoved between his ribs. The brunette lifted his head from his arms to glower briefly at his mate, before muttering a low 'troublesome' and dropping his head back into his folded arms. Sakura could have rolled her eyes. Despite their incredible stamina, and the fact they never slept, Shikamaru would still continue to be the laziest person she had ever known, who preferred to sneak away and study clouds instead of doing any actual work.

"Sakura, I must agree with Ino on this." Neji began, before stopping at the pointed look Sakura flashed him. Her short pink hair seemed to quiver with irritation as she folded her arms under her breasts and glowered at him.

"Oh, do you, Neji?" Her voice was dry, as she glowered at Tenten briefly. The buns-wearing brunette merely grinned sheepishly. "You've disliked him from day one, and I _know _that you and Tenten confronted him earlier today. Don't think that I don't know about that." With a glance at the eager blonde across from him, he immediately knew that Ino had ratted on him to Sakura.

"We were doing it for your own good." Neji protested calmly. She arched a thin eyebrow sardonically..

"Funny, because I never actually asked for your guys' help." Her voice was hard as she spoke to the two brunettes. "I appreciate the sentiment, but next time, stay out of my business, got it?" Her voice was softer now, as she smiled at her family warmly. They nodded, having been properly chastised.

"I still think you should stay away from him, Sakura. He is a human, after all." Neji continued.. Sakura shrugged as she rose gracefully to throw away her untouched food.. She paused as she bent over to pick up her bookbag, as her dark green eyes sparked with mischief as she looked up at him.

"We were all humans once, Neji." His eyes narrowed immediately as he caught her implications, but by the time he opened his mouth to tell her just what he thought of that suggestion, she was gone, having blended in smoothly with the departing lunch crowd. He sighed dramatically, as his mate patted him on the shoulder with a soft laugh.

"She got you there, Neji." Tenten laughed, gathering up her own supplies. Neji grumbled nonverbally as they gracefully rose to their feet. With a hurried farewell, Ino and Shikamaru had vanished as well into the now-crowded hallways. As the two shrugged into the crowd effortlessly, Tenten continued. "Though, you never really had a chance. That girl is more stubborn than a pack of donkeys, and if she wants to do something, we both know she'll do it even if we try to stop her."

"The fact that she's stronger than all of us combined is also a factor." Neji commented dryly.

"True. Very true." Tenten agreed with a laugh, before her tone turned pondering. "Though I can't help but wonder how he'll take it. I hope he won't be like the last one. That one was a total mess, and I would hate to have to dispose of Sasuke. I was just beginning to like him, too." She sighed sadly. Neji stiffened, turning to look at her. Correctly reading the look in his eye, she patted his arm comfortingly with an eye roll of her own.. "Relax, you're still the guy for me, you insecure fool. I'm just saying that Sasuke is to Sakura what you are to me. How many people have you seen that can talk to her for a few minutes and when she comes back, she's so happy it almost hurts to be around her?"

Neji thought for a moment, before grudgingly admitting that she had a point. Tenten laughed, patting him on the shoulder once more. "Even if he does have a stick up his ass all the way to his throat." She amended warily.

"Could you be a bigger ass to him?" Neji observed wryly. Tenten laughed, before glancing back down at his backside jokingly.

"Could you have a bigger ass?" She countered playfully, earning an exasperated, rather loud snort. "And you're one to talk, you've been against him since day one."

"Point taken."

* * *

I added some NejiTen fluff in there, because I realized that I had been keeping them in the back seat.

Who else appreciated the NaruHina fluff, huh!?

I enjoyed writing the conversation between Sasuke and Sakura, and yes, before you asked, I did channel my inner Stephenie Meyer in that conversation. I'm referring to the "No whores? None." etc etc thing. Except the original conversation went more along the lines of:

_"'No Spiders?'_

_'Nope.'_

_'And no radioactivity?'_

_'None.'_

_..._

_'Kryptonite doesn't bother me either.'"_

Or something to that effect. My memory's slipping a little. Oh, and its a conversation between Bella and Edward somewhere in the first book. I think right before she sees his house for the first time or something.

Also: make sure to check out my profile everyone as I'm finding pictures of the characters that I like and putting them up there so you have a rough idea of what they look like for this story, as I know I don't spend a lot of time on descriptions.

Also: I'm considering writing a lemon for this story. I'm not sure at the moment, but if I do, it won't be for several chapters and probably won't be that good due to the fact I've never written one of these before. So, just a warning ahead of time, because if I do, I will be boosting the rating up to M.

**Reviewer Replies**:

_Laura-chan_: I'm glad you like the chapter as a whole, even if you hated the last five lines. Yeah, I know. I dind't really want to use Karin, but every other female character that I've seen Sasuke paired with (Ino, Hinata, etc) was already taken so I couldn't use them, and I got stuck with her. But no worries: she'll only be making a few more appearances, if at all. And all very small appearances, kinda like for the last chapter and this one. I hope I made it up to you with this chapters. And don't worry about making your review too long: I happen to love reviews that dissect my chapters and everything. Hah hah. And I hate SasuKarin with a fiery passion too.

_IDontNeedToReply_: Yay, P-Waffleism! Uh oh, this religion doesn't make waffles sacred or something, does it? -fearful- And no, I haven't had a chance to try the waffles yet. My mom forgot to pick them up when she was at the store a few days ago, but she'll remember this time. I shall try them this time around, I know it! He should sound unbelievably cocky: his arrogance makes Vegeta look like that emo girl in the corner who has no self-esteem. Hah hah, and yes, I did just make a Dragonball Z reference. I found a few episode tapes at a pawn shop yesterday and I've been watching them like a fiend. I forgot just how much I enjoyed DBZ. Hah hah. OH HELL YES! Somebody saw the love! This makes me so fantastically happy, I think I can die and go to heaven now. I wanted to make it apparent that they were in love with each other, even if they don't know it, and you just made my freaking day when you noticed that! Hell yes! Fanfiction killed your father? Oh dear. I know, I phrased it like that on purpose, because I am a shameless pervert. Damn those friends of mine. You do realize this is Kakashi we're talking about, right? The pervert who has no problem reading porn in front of children? You'll name a peanut butter waffle after me! SWEET! I shall be known far as wide now. Y'know, until you decide to eat the thing of course. Hah hah. And thanks: I wanted to make him keen without making him a genius, because when he really wants to be, he can be. And yeah, I freakin' love Naruto. Yeah, pretty much. I mean, in the anime/manga, before he left, he always seemed to rather protective of Sakura, treating her like a fragile doll even if he didn't mean to, and I wanted to include that in here, because I think its too fluffy to pass up. And OF COURSE I was distraught: I always prided myself on the fact that I tried to use Japanese suffixes as their proper uses, and to find out that I hadn't been, it was a serious blow to my pride. I freak out over the stupidest things, I know. XP ...Nice poem. Hah hah,

_4everDestined_: Whoot! A new reviewer! This always makes me so happy. Yeah, somebody else commented on the fact that I made Sakura the vampire and Sasuke the mortal. But, I pride myself on being different. Though the entire thought about Sakura being a vampire is what actually inspired this entire story and its plot. I'm glad you like it so far, though. Of course there's going to be fightings and blood and stuff. Just not much on Sasuke's end due to the fact he's an eggshell in comparison to the vampires. Hah hah. And no no, I have a plot in my head indeed. I'm considering writing a sequel to this one, but that's still very up in the air at the moment. She might. I'm not going to say anymore on the topic before it would quite a spoiler for everything I have in mind. And thanks: flirty Sakura is fun. I made Neji and Tenten confront Sasuke, as you probably saw. I love writing Tenten, which is why I included her in the argument, even if she didn't really need to be there. Um, yes, Sakura has an ability but no I haven't revealed it yet. Just a forewarning: it won't be as cool as Ino's mind-reading or anything, because I'm trying to make her not appear to be the strongest vampire overall and mind-reading or something like it would be a bit much for me. But its a rather unique ability and I think you'll like it.

_CelestialMaidenofSilence_: Yeah, nobody seemed happy with the Karin part, not that I was expecting them to or anything. I hope this chapter made it up to you, at least. And I try to update everything few days, as it usually takes a day for my beta to read it and send it back, and anywhere from two or three days for me to finish the chapter, though my updating will probably be farther between as I have a lot of schoolwork to make up and everything. -grimace- And Sakura won't be. Hinata was. I figured it would be fun to do a very unorthodox character. Neji, the ridiculously overprotective big brother. Hah hah. You stole the thoughts out of my head, as I had been planning on making Neji confront Sasuke anyways and then for Sasuke to be the cold-ass bastard he is in return. And thank you: I enjoy getting reviews and I reply to them because its fun and to prove that I'm actually reading your reviews and can point out your questions in specific. If I wind up getting more reviews, it might become slightly more difficult, though, but I won't stop.


	7. Andromeda

No idea what I think of this, at all. I'm currently leaning to not liking it very much I think its too cliche, especially with Sakura's history. -grimace- I hate cliches, but I somehow got wrangled into doing it for this one. Once you read, you'll get what I'm rambling about.

Probably not my best chapter, but I think I'm okay with that. But on another note, this chapter wound up being over 8,000 words altogether! Barely.

This story has been beta'd by the ever amazing _IDontNeedToReply_.

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, or Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am merely using them for my twisted amusement.

* * *

Two days later, Sasuke was standing outside the Hatake household, trying to figure out why he has the sudden sensation of fear trickling down his spine and where it has come from. The house seemed different somehow, in the bright sunlight that seemed to be flooding them that day. Brighter, somehow. Sakura had told him two days prior, after tracking him down when their last class of the day had ended, to let him know that he could just let himself in, before promptly disappearing in a flurry of spiky pink hair to her waiting family. There had been a certain look to her almost black eyes as she looked at him that had made him unbelievably curious, though the look had darted away quickly to be replaced by her traditional happy gleam.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke knocked once on the thick wooden door out of politeness, before opening it and stepping inside. He had to blink at the sudden loss of sunlight, as all of the windows he could see were tightly closed so as to not allow any sunlight any. Five out of the eight Hatake family members were in the living room, their eyes staring at him accusingly. Ino was perched on Shikamaru's lap, and had obviously been talking with Tenten, though the room had been engulfed in an overbearing silence as they all studied him intently. He scanned the room briefly to make sure he hadn't overlooked the pink hair, and decided that he hadn't. "Er, hello." He began awkwardly. "Is Sakura here?" Anko was the one to reply, her expression speculative, as if gauging his responses with a keen eye.

"She's upstairs getting ready. She'll be down in a moment." The purple-haired woman responded quickly, before looking back down at the thick, large book in her lap. Her husband seemed to be missing, along with the longhaired Neji. Sasuke nodded, and only had to wait a few more moments in an awkward silence before Sakura came bouncing down the stairs. In comparison to some of the outfits he had seen her in before, what she was wearing at the moment was rather conservative. She was wearing too-long faded jeans that covered her feet by several inches. A long-sleeved black jacket with a high collar covered a dark blue shirt she was wearing. She wore black gloves on her hands, with a floppy-brimmed hat perched on her trademark pastel hair.

The smile on her face when she saw him made a warm feeling to spread in his abdomen, and he merely smirked back. "Hey, Sasuke. Been waiting long?" She asked brightly, coming to stand next to him. He shook his head, and she grinned again. "Cool. C'mon, let's go upstairs." She took his hand and began tugging him up the stairs with an airy farewell to her family. She tugged on his hand with enough strength to let him know that he couldn't overpower her, which was surprising for her slight frame. The Uchiha had assumed that they were heading for the art room that she had showed him the last time he had been there, but instead she bypassed the door for another one further down the hall, before ushering him in and closing it firmly.

Like downstairs, the several large windows were closed securely to prevent any sunlight from getting in. Her room was rather large, with a massive Californian King-sized bed pressed into the corner. It was diagonal from the corner, with the two front corners pressing into the two walls. Its comforter was a dark green that reminded Sasuke of Sakura's eyes, with a cherrywood, sleigh bed frame and countless pillows thrown onto it. There was a desk on the opposite end of the bed, also in a cherrywood design with black metal for its post. Several wall-to-ceiling bookshelves were stacked with books of various titles. There were even two chairs closer to the center of the room on top of a black, shag rug. On the far right side of her room, there was a large mirror taped to the wall. A closet was next to the mirror, along with a closed door that he assumed was a bathroom.

The entire room smelled pleasantly of lilacs and vanilla, with just a tinge of mint. It was surprising for the girl, but he liked it. It was just so…Sakura.

"Ino's the main one who uses the mirror. It came with the house." The rosette explained airily, brushing past him to settle daintily in one of the chairs. After one more moment of examining the bed with a keen thought, Sasuke joined her by sitting in the other chair. He merely grunted in response, unsure of how she wanted him to respond, seeing as he hadn't even mentioned the mirror.

"Is there a particular reason why you invited me over?" He asked after a few moments of silence. She started, as if forgetting that he was there, and smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, actually there is." She took a deep, though rather unneeded, breath, her expression automatically becoming somber, and subconsciously causing Sasuke to tense and look serious in return. "Do you remember a few days ago when you asked me what I was?" He nodded, the brief conversation on the topic vivid in his mind.

"_Can I ask you a question?" Sasuke asked suddenly. She looked up; looking mildly surprised, and then nodded with a nonchalant shrug._

"_Sure. But I get to ask you one in return." She responded with a grin, apparently having forgiven him for his earlier snappiness. He nodded in agreement, knowing it would be futile to argue with her, and not really wanting to anyways. _

"_What are you?" He phrased the question badly, and couldn't help wincing at the realization. Her expression didn't alter, as she looked mildly bemused._

"_What kind of question is that? I'm a human, just as you are. At least, I hope you are." She chuckled, eyeing him playfully. "Why do you ask?"_

"And I assume you remember my answer?" Her voice was hesitant. He nodded again, wondering where she was going with this. "Well, I lied."

"So you're not human?" He couldn't contain the smile that quirked the corner of his lips in quiet amusement, obviously thinking that she was trying to trick him again. Her serious expression didn't falter at all, and he quickly gathered that she was serious. "So, if you _aren't _human, what are you?" She looked even more troubled by how calmly he was taking this, even more so than if he had still obviously thought she was joking around.

"Tell me this... what do you know of vampires?" He stared at her incredulously for a moment before seeing the stony glimmer in her eyes and wondering where she was going with this.

"Well, I know that garlic is apparently poisonous to them, as are crosses which can burn into their skin. They feed off of humans and are considered mad, mentally. They can't go out into the sun, or else they risk burning to death." He racked his brain for more information. "Silver bullets can injure or kill them, and to kill one, you shove a wooden stake through their heart. What are you rolling your eyes at?" He noticed Sakura rolling her eyes skyward in an exasperated motion. She shifted her gaze to look at him in mild irritation before it was wiped away cleanly.

"Do you know anything about their skin in specific? Or about their eyes?" She asked, watching as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"I know that if you touch a cross to them it can burn their skin, is that it? And no, nothing about their eyes." He answered, utterly bewildered. Then it dawned on him, and he didn't bother to hide the wry smirk that curved his lips upward. "Sakura, are you trying to tell me you're a vampire?" He asked, his question being promptly ignored.

"Just so you know, all of that was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. Garlic? Please." She snorted rudely, looking offended.

"Oh? Then, what is true?" He settled back into the rather comfortable chair, having decided to play along with her little game for the time-being. She didn't hesitate to answer; her voice was hard and flat as she explained.

"First off, garlic does nothing to them except irritate their rather sensitive noses. They can't go out into the sun, but not for the reasons you think. They're nearly invincible as a matter of fact. Bullets of any kind bounce off like rubber; the same with stakes, which would just splinter. They can feed off of humans but don't necessarily have to, and aren't considered mad by any stretch of the imagination. Crosses are nothing more than a nuisance constructed by the masses in order for them to think they have a snowball's chance in hell. The reason I asked about their skin is because I wanted to see if you knew about its sheen or its invincibility." She answered bluntly, averting her eyes to the plush carpet as she rattled off the facts. He stared at her in mild shock, before shaking his head.

"No, _that's_ ridiculous." He answered with an eye roll of his own. Her eyes snapped up to meet his, glowing with sparks of fury.

"And why is that?" She asked.

"Because it is. Who's ever heard of bullets just glancing off of people?" Sasuke retorted.

"Vampires aren't people, Sasuke." Her voice was frozen and hard, but persistent, as if trying to make him see reason.

"You're right, Sakura. They're _fictional_." Sasuke agreed, now wondering when she was going to give up the joke and come clean, with that playful little smile of her's on. Instead, her face was frozen into an expressionless mask, her eyes the only alive part of her, shooting vengeful sparks at him.

"Vampires are anything but fictional. I'm proof of that." She answered, now sounding rather calm. He was definitely amused now, even if his emotional mask didn't falter any, though his dark eyes seemed a little lighter than normal.

"Prove it."

She wordlessly pushed up the sleeves of her jacket and held out her wrist to him. "Find my pulse, Sasuke. I dare you."

He wordlessly took her delicate hand in his, tugging it closer to him. Crisply remembering directions on how to find a pulse from Health, his experienced finger skimmed her satiny, albeit freezing, skin. There was no corresponding bump against the tips of his fingers as he ran them carefully over the skin on the inside of her wrist. "It can be rather difficult to find the pulse at the wrist." He hurried to explain the lack of a pulse, and with another eye roll, Sakura slid gracefully from her chair and sat on her knees in front of him. His mind hurried to remind him of what other reasons she could be on her knees in front of him for, and he also hurried to squash the thought quickly. Sakura tilted her head back to allow him to see the full expanse of her throat, as they both knew that finding the pulse at the throat was foolproof.

Sasuke dropped her wrist gingerly before grazing his fingers over the satiny, rock-hard skin of her throat. This time he also felt no pulse despite how long he felt around for one, and he finally sat back with a stunned expression written on his sharp features. "Okay, so either I really suck at this, or your heart isn't beating at the moment, which would be impossible, as you need to breathe and everything. And I know you're breathing and everything, currently with no indication of dropping dead anytime soon." He was babbling. He knew he was babbling, and Sakura also knew it. She let out a soft sigh, pushing away from him and returning to her chair. She faced him once more, this time with a wistful smile on.

"My heart hasn't beat in almost a hundred and forty years, Sasuke." She told him quietly, not looking at him.

"That's impossible." He gasped, sounding very unlike himself. She shrugged carelessly.

"Is it really? Everyday we find out about animal species that were thought to be extinct, or a brand new disease in some rural country. How is this any different?" She asked, still in that quiet voice.

"How old are you, really?" She smiled sadly at his question.

"I turned one-hundred fifty-seven a few months ago." The rosette answered softly. "Kakashi, if you believe it, just turned three-hundred eighty-nine two months ago. Anko is a few years younger than that. Ino and Shikamaru were turned within a few months of each other, almost one hundred years ago. Neji's two-hundred twelve, while Tenten's barely seventy-five years old. Hinata's only been a vampire for thirty years or so." She continued, sounding rather nonchalant. Sasuke blinked, mentally comparing his mental image of Kakashi to his true age and finding himself unable to believe it.

"But what about blood? You obviously need to feed off of something." He asked, suddenly struck with the idea that she had drawn him in closer and then invited him over so she could have a blood bath with her family, and his eyes widened at the thought. As if she were able to read his thoughts, she snorted loudly.

"Most of our kind do prefer to drink human blood, though in my family we're all vegetarians in a way. It's a tongue-in-cheek phrase that basically means we drink animal blood instead of humans's." She explained, that wistful look gone from her face.

"Is it as good?" Sasuke found himself asking, more curious than actually revolted, which would have been the normal response to such news. But then again, he had never been considered normal by any stretch of the imagination.

"I wouldn't know. I've been a vegetarian since my first meal. Luckily, Kakashi was the one to turn me, and he was able to keep me from going on a rampage until I could control my urges. But, based off of scent, it doesn't compare. Carnivores are almost as good, I would say though."

"What's your favorite?"

A corner of her mouth dipped down at the question. "Panther."

"Isn't that endangered?"

"So? I'm not saying I drink nothing but Panther. Most of the time, I make do with herbivores, such as deer. Nasty stuff, though it gets the job done."

"And what'd you mean about the sun? You said that you can't come out into the sun, but not because you'll burn into ash." He changed the topic. She glanced at him warily, before getting to her feet and gesturing for him to follow her to the nearest window.

"Are you sure you're ready for this, Sasuke? I did just give you a crap-load of mind-blowing news." She asked him cautiously. He just flashed her the infamous Uchiha Glare in silence, and she got the point. "Alright. Take that cord and when I say 'go', pull it." He grasped the cord that controlled the blinds as ordered, staring at her worriedly, half-expecting her to be lying, and then for her to erupt into dust in a fit of suicidal tendencies. She took a deep breath, probably to calm her nerves. "Alright, go."

Sasuke yanked sharply on the cord at the command, a small part of him resentful at being ordered around by the smaller woman, and the blinds went up easily, folding neatly into each other. Sunlight flooded the room, and bathed Sakura's form in bright light. He had to close his eyes briefly against the onslaught of light and look away. After keeping them closed for a moment, Sasuke cracked open an eye to look at Sakura, inwardly relieved to hear no answering screams of pain.

Instead of seeing a pile of ash on the carpet, what he saw instead was Sakura in one piece, glittering like someone had embedded millions of faceted diamonds into her skin. Her entire skin sparkled, as she opened her eyes and looked at him. She must have been wearing contact lenses, he realized, as her eyes were now a dark gold, just a shade away from black. Her pale pink hair glittered like the hair of a shampoo commercial, and she smiled tightly at him. "This is what I mean." She sighed.

"And this happens to everyone?"

"Yes." She allowed him to reach out and brush his fingers tentatively along the skin on her arm, though she didn't offer the limb out to him. He half-expected it be ridged like that of a jewel, but instead it was as smooth as he remembered.

"And the eyes? I thought you vampires were supposed to have either red or black eyes." She smiled tightly at him once more before returning to her chair and curling up in it neatly.

"That's one thing you humans got half-right." She commented blithely. "But only those who feed off of humans have red eyes, which is brightest right after they feed and then gradually darken for about two weeks until their eyes become black, and they have to feed again. Most of us try to drink more often than that, as we go on rampages if we don't feed often enough."

"Your eyes are gold, not red or black." Sasuke replied bewilderedly. She smiled sardonically at him, pointing at her face with a slim index finger.

"Vegetarian, remember? Animal drinkers have gold eyes, though they also have to feed every two weeks or so." She responded bluntly, shrugging.

"Aa." Sasuke nodded, blinking rapidly as he tried to adjust to the sparkling image of Sakura in front of him. "Are their any other…supernaturals?" Sakura snorted indelicately at his wording, her dark eyes focused on him warily, as if she expected him to suddenly freak out and try to attack her.

_He's taking this way too calmly. _She thought in bewilderment, rather confused at the composed Uchiha sitting across from her. Aloud she said, "I don't think so. Even now, there are precious few of us in specific left. I think if there were any others, they would have been eradicated throughout the centuries."

"Why?" He asked curiously. She shot him a wondering look, and he hastened to clarify. "Why are there so few of you… Immortals left? I thought you said you were invincible." He paused for a moment, unable to say the word 'vampires.'

"Nearly invincible." She corrected immediately, and continued without waiting for his response, "Because, unlike what your Hollywood movies depict, becoming one is excruciatingly painful, like someone poured liquid flame into your veins to replace your blood, and then tossed you into a vat of boiling acid, and most people don't survive it. Or the vampire who did the biting loses control and drains them dry. The second one is more common, I admit." He winced at the vivid imagery, and quickly found himself disturbed by the clinical, detached air to her as she answered his question, her voice blunt and flat; her dark eyes curiously blank as they focused on the black carpet at their feet. Sakura refused to meet his penetrating gaze, looking depressed, as if she was regretting telling him this.

"Hn." Unsure of how she wanted him to respond, he settled back into his comfortable facade of "cold bastard." His monosyllabic response didn't bother the pink-headed girl, as she seemed to relax imperceptibly at the familiar sound. "How did you wind up with the…?" He made a vague gesture towards her skin, as she looked up just in time to catch it. She flashed him a wary glance, now wondering if he was just pressing on for the sake of his masculine pride and was secretly despairing inside. Suddenly the image of Sasuke despairing openly popped into her mind and she couldn't contain the snort of laughter that escaped her at the ridiculous mental image.

"I would ask if you really want to hear my entire life story, but I can already tell by your mulish expression that you want to. Be careful, though. It's rather long." She sighed, getting comfortable in her chair, before she started again. "I was born Sakura Ayuka Haruno on March 28th, 1851.

"My father was named Kiyoshi Haruno, and my mother was named Natsume Haruno. I was only a few months old when my father came down with a bad case of pneumonia and died from it. From then on, my mother was left to raise me on her own, as my father's family wanted nothing to do with me, a wedlock child, and my mother, who was an orphan herself. My parents weren't married when I was born, and my father's family was rather old-fashioned -pardon the pun- concerning it, though after several arguments they had decided to pass the Haruno inheritance on to me, once I was married, naturally; but it had to happen before I turned eighteen.

My mother never remarried, though from the time I was ten or eleven, she was trying to get one of the many eligible bachelors to agree to marry me."

"So she tried to whore you out?" Sasuke broke in crudely. Sakura immediately looked offended, her back straightening and her dark eyes flashed in warning.

"No, you ass! My mother just wanted me to have a better life, though I couldn't have been happier with her. Now, as I was saying," She paused briefly to shoot Sasuke a warning glare, "Natsume didn't have any luck until I was seventeen, as I was a late bloomer in the looks department and even when I was sixteen, I looked twelve. My suitor went by the name of Hyuuga Hitoshi, and yes he was related to Neji and Hinata. He was a kind man, always very gentle with me, as if I were a little doll, even if he was nearing thirty. He was polite, well-mannered, but distanced. Kinda like you are, Sasuke. Anyways, it became apparent that he was soon enamored with me, and he asked my mother for my hand in marriage. After making sure I would be content with someone ten years older than me, and after getting my whole-hearted agreement, she agreed to the proposal.

"My mother threw herself into planning the wedding, as Hitoshi had said that money was no object. I spent most of my time with Hitoshi, as I had become rather fond of him in return, and his intelligence had been astounding to me. He felt much of the same regard for me, as I have always enjoyed reading, and so was more involved with the current politics and various other topics than the normal woman was. Soon, I found myself in love with him, and the wedding was fast approaching, with less than two months to go. I myself had snuck into my mother's wedding planner and had been delighted with them. My mother knew what my favorite things were, and had tried to include as many of them as possible. My favorite gem, favorite flowers, favorite colors, favorite everything. She even in brought in a couple peacocks, which have always been my favorite birds.

"The night before the wedding was when things went wrong. I had been sent out on a late-night errand, and had been returning home when I was mugged. It was three men, and after ransacking my bag and taking all of my possessions, they held me to the floor and raped me over and over again until I eventually lost consciousness due to the blood loss their forcefulness had caused. The fact that one of them smashed my head into the ground when I tried to fight back probably didn't help any. I was unconscious for several hours, and was only stirred to consciousness by a cold, rock-hard hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me awake. The first thing that my brain had been able to recognize was pain, excruciating pain, probably from the mens's roughness. I managed to crack open my eyes, and had to close them immediately against the light that was flooding my retinas.

"When I was able to open them once more a few moments later, I found the most glorious creature I had ever seen crouched next to my bruised and battered body. In a lyrical, velvety voice, the creature told me that I had lost too much blood at the hands of those men. It was only later that I found out someone eager to get the vast Haruno fortune had hired the thugs to mug and rape me." Her voice was unendingly bitter on the end, and with a start, Sasuke realized that his hands had clenched into fists so tight, his blunt nails were digging brutally into the flesh on his palms. Fury like none he had felt before had flooded his veins at the mention of Sakura being raped. "Sasuke." The fury leeched away slowly at Sakura's soft, concerned voice and he focused on it blindly as the rage continued to leech away.

"I'm fine. Continue." He told her after a moment of smothering silence. She watched him carefully for a few more seconds before nodding.

"Right. Anyways, the creature told me that I had lost too much blood to last much longer, but that he had the ability to save me. Apparently, the thugs had taken a knife to me in an effort to scar me. Already half-delirious, I quickly demanded he do so, and he bit me. I don't remember the next three days, which is how long it takes for one to become Immortal, other than the fact that I had been in unending agony up until the very end. Then, as all newborns are, I was filled with an unquenchable thirst for blood, and Kakashi had to take me away for several years from the company of humankind until I could control my urges and was sane once more. After that, I demanded that we go to my hometown so I could be reunited with Hitoshi and try to explain everything to him. Kakashi tried to sway me from doing so, but I refused, and Kakashi grudgingly accompanied me after I pleaded with him for hours.

"It didn't take us long to arrive there, and I was thankful that on that particular day it was rather overcast and had been raining on and off all day. It was easy work to find Hitoshi. I discovered that my mother had died in an accident two years prior, and that Hitoshi had never remarried. While I was distraught at the loss of my mother, who had always been my best friend, I rejoiced at the fact that Hitoshi was still alive and single. Now we could be together, I thought. With Kakashi shadowing me just in case things took a turn for the worst, I tracked down Hitoshi. I had borrowed some clothes in an effort to hide my new beauty from him, though there wasn't much I could do about my now-gold eyes. Once he had gotten over the shock that I was indeed alive, he was very glad to see me. Apparently, the three brutes that had attacked me had been found out and were now sitting in prison for their actions, apparently with a life sentence.

"I had missed my chance with gaining the Haruno fortune; as, if I had continued to age normally, I would have just turned twenty-two, and I was still unmarried. Hitoshi didn't seem bothered about it, though it frightened me to think of what could have happened to mother after my supposed death. He told me that she had spent her last years with him and no harm was ever done to her up until the accident. I latched onto the words desperately, and then he asked about what had happened to me. I had planned from the beginning to tell him the truth, honestly expecting him to take it with as much ease as you are now and then for him to want to join us. I was still madly in love with him, you see.

"However, when I revealed my true self to him, he panicked. He started screaming about how he was going to call the cops and I was going to be carted off to an asylum. I tried reasoning with him, but nothing seemed to work. In a fit of desperation to try and calm him down, I hugged him. However, I still had not perfected my control over my strength, and his panic had frightened me and my control wavered. I accidentally squeezed too hard, successfully breaking the vertebrae in his back and sending shards of his broken ribs straight into his lungs. He died, choking on his own blood until the very end and calling me a monster until the very end. I could smell the blood in his open mouth as if he had bathed in it. I'm sure that if Kakashi hadn't stepped in at that moment, that I would drained him and gone on a killing spree.

She ignored Sasuke's astonished expression. "Kakashi covered the accident easily, making it appear as if Hitoshi had been in a vehicle collision, and we disappeared off the map for many years. I had been a vampire for about ten years or so before I realized that I was gifted."

"Gifted?" Sasuke interrupted.

"Yes, Sasuke, gifted. A few of our kind have certain abilities. For example, Ino has the ability to read minds. She was rather sensitive to the thoughts of others, and when she was changed, that sensitivity manifested into the ability to read minds." She explained.

Sasuke paled at the realization. "All minds?"

She shot him an odd look. "Yes, Sasuke. All minds." His face seemed to close like a shutter, and he changed the topic smoothly.

"What's your…gift?"

"Luck."

He blinked. "What?"

"I'm extraordinarily lucky. The lottery, drawings, you name it; I'm lucky at it. I have yet to find something I'm not automatically lucky with."

"The lottery?" He repeated dimly.

"How else do you think we got this house?" She asked, gesturing at the building breezily. "It's a rather odd gift, but seeing as our gifts are only emphasized by whatever we had while mortal, it makes sense."

"Who else is gifted in your family?"

"Ino, myself, Tenten, and Neji."

"What can they do?"

"As I said before, Ino can read minds, and I'm amazingly lucky. Tenten has this knack with weapons. She has amazing aim and has never missed, and instinctively knows how to use any weapons, without any training whatsoever. Neji can manipulate the wind around him."

"He can what?" Sasuke was undeniably confused now.

She rubbed at her forehead with one of her hands, as if trying to soothe away a nonexistent headache. "It's rather difficult to explain. Basically, he manipulates the wind around him, causing it to spin at incredible speeds in a tight, rapid circle around him. Because of the current that the speed causes, he spins with it. It takes on a blueish glow because of that. It's excellent for defense, as it's almost impossible to break through the wall of wind. It can deflect bullets, swords, any kind of weapons, and most Immortals if they decide to try and attack him." She explained.

"And what could he do as a human?" She shrugged in a very blasé manner.

"I'm not quite sure. He had been a vampire for over five decades when I was turned, and closer to eight decades before he decided to join us, some years after Anko had tracked us down and glued herself to Kakashi's side. I asked him once, but he refused to answer and swiftly changed the topic. Apparently Tenten's the only one who knows his true history." Sakura answered.

"Aa." Sasuke nodded, before gesturing for Sakura to continue on with her story. After less than a second of remembering her place, she continued.

"After the incident with Hitoshi, things settled down for a long time. It was just Kakashi and myself for several years, before Anko came along. I swear, I actually moved out of the house for a while because they were so nauseating together. The others came trickling in over the years, typically by themselves, but Ino and Shika came in together. Hinata's the most recent addition, and Kakashi was the one who turned her."

"How many times have you gone through high school?" Sasuke asked, earning a shrug.

"I lost count, really. I've gone to medical school several times over, though it can never do much good due to how young I look. I've also become a certified sound tech, though I've been rather lax in the musical area for a while." She grinned at him suddenly. "Pyrotechnics is fun, though. I got my license for that several years ago.."

As much fun as it was to listen to Sakura ramble on about the various jobs she had had over the years, Sasuke wanted to know something. "You said something about how difficult it can be for a person to become like you, and then mentioned something about it taking three days. Explain."

She eyed him warily "What's up with the sudden interest, Uchiha?" She didn't wait for a response, before she answered. "What I was referring to was that, unlike that stupid trading-blood-thing that Hollywood made so famous, where I drain your blood and then you drink my blood, is obscene. Especially since during the Changing, every liquid in your body gets turned to venom, blood included. Saliva is also included as well. So drinking my 'blood' would be impossible. _Actual_ vampires feed a lot like snakes."

"You swallow your prey whole?" Sasuke clarified skeptically. She let out a loud laugh.

"I probably phrased it badly. Allow me to rephrase: What I meant is that vampires do drink blood, but to get turned into a vampire, the person must allow the vampires to inject their venom into the bloodstream. The venom travels around, vampifying everything that it comes into contact with. In most cases, the heart is last, and when venom comes into contact venom, the heart stops and the transformation is over. The entire process takes about three days on average, and the person is in immense agony the entire time." She clarified with another bold laugh.

"Anything else you want to know, nosy?"

"What about coffins?" The question flew out of his mouth when he hadn't meant for it to, and Sakura quirked a thin eyebrow in question.

"What _about _coffins?" She asked patiently, as if she knew what he was going to ask.

"Do you sleep in coffins?" Sasuke reiterated impatiently. Sakura shook her spiky head at the question.

"Why would we? I mean, its not like it has to protect us from the sun or anything. And even if we did have coffins, it would be pointless. We don't sleep." She seemed to hesitate on the last part, watching as Sasuke quirked a blue-black eyebrow, managing to look amazingly conceited as he did so.

"Ever?"

"Nope."

"And you're not mentally unstable or anything, after over a century of not sleeping?"

She snorted out a half-laugh. "No, you dimwit. We don't need to sleep, it's no longer a necessity."

"Hn." She seemed to take his answering grunt as the end of the conversation and got to her feet in a fluid motion. He wordlessly followed her out of her room and down the stairs. At the base of the stairs were the remaining members of Sakura's family, eyeing him warily.

Sakura let out a trilling laugh. "Calm down everyone. He gets to keep breathing." She told them, though they had probably heard the entire conversation easily. Her entire family relaxed slightly at the words, as Hinata offered him a wavering smile before looking away, and Ino just laughed loudly.

"Good to know, forehead." The beautiful blonde responded brightly. "So he knows everything? The skin, the eyes, everything?"

"Yes." Sakura answered promptly. "He also knows about your mind-reading, too." She added on with a wry grin, and Sasuke got the impression she had been keeping the fact from her friend. The blonde promptly began to pout at the news.

"Well, doesn't that make things difficult." Ino decided with another pout for good measure. Sakura remained unmoved by it, and after a moment, the blonde flitted to stand in front of Sasuke. She, too, was shorter than he was, though she went up to his nose instead of his collarbone like Sakura did. He found himself preferring Sakura's height to her's. The blonde's dark butterscotch eyes narrowed as they skimmed across his face keenly. Sasuke stiffened as she studied him intently, his own onyx eyes narrowing at her.

"What." His voice flat and back to its customary harshness. Ino just smiled at him and shrugged off his brashness.

"Nothing. You'll be a good match for forehead, I guess." She mused. Sasuke stiffened, and Sakura hit her friend on the shoulder hard enough to make the other girl stumble back a step with a loud 'shut up, you idiot.' Sasuke had to wince when they collided; the dull sound sounded like two rocks being smashed together. "What! It's true." Ino retorted, whirling around in an unbelievably graceful motion to glower at her closest friend. "You obviously like him, Sakura. Something I wouldn't have thought possible after Hitoshi. Can you blame me for being surprised?"

Sakura's face didn't falter any, and it started Sasuke on thinking of whether or not she still cared for the now-dead man before he squashed the thought viciously. Ino flashed him an amused look as she plucked the thought from his head, though she thankfully didn't mention anything of it to Sakura. "We're just friends, Ino-pig. I thought you, of all people, would have realized that." Sakura drawled confidently, earning a mysterious little smile from her best friend who stayed strangely quiet.

"Whatever you say, forehead-girl." Ino replied, flicking her friend affectionately on the forehead before darting out of the door in a blindingly fast movement with Shikamaru right behind her. Sasuke had to blink as he realized that the girl was gone, along with her stalker of a boyfriend.

"Ignore them, Sasuke. They have a rather antagonistic relationship." Kakashi broke into the male's thoughts, causing said male to start slightly. Sakura just rolled her eyes, a fond smile playing around her full lips.

"Hn." Sasuke was still struggling to adapt to the idea of vampires existing, and he nodded jerkily. Kakashi pretended not to notice out of politeness, a solemn look entering his almost black eye. Accordingly, the remaining Hatake members looked more serious as well.

"Sasuke, we must ask you to not mention this to anyone, even your closest friend. Hinata's already decided not to tell Naruto, and we ask that you remain silent on this matter." The older man stated quietly, his tone firm and unwilling. Sasuke merely nodded once, having already decided to remain quiet about it. After all, who would believe him without proof, anyways? "Thank you." The silver-haired man smiled slightly from under his mask, and Sakura ushered him to the door before Kakashi could try to give him another pervy book. She apparently got the feeling that the Uchiha was feeling a bit overwhelmed and decided to rescue him accordingly.

She opened the door for him and allowed him to step outside. "Bye, Sasuke. Thanks for coming over." She told him comfortably. Sasuke nodded again.

"I would stay longer, but I couldn't do my homework yesterday and there's a lot of it." Sasuke told her stiffly. She nodded, grinning wryly. They stood on the doorsteps for a moment, before Sakura leaned over, her arms sliding into the dusky glow of the setting sun and glittering appropriately. She slid her arms around his neck in a light hug, enjoying the warmth that she felt resonating from his skin, and feeling the blood pulsing beneath the flimsy skin. "Thanks again, Sasuke." She whispered in his ear before withdrawing her arms before he could react.

"Goodbye, Sakura." He stared down at her for a moment longer, before briskly lifting his hand and gently running the edge of his knuckles along her cheek and jawline before dropping it and briskly walking to his car without looking back. She stared after him, her skin humming with the remaining warmth of his skin, feeling rather flustered as a result of the simple motion.

"Later, twinkle toes!" She suddenly belted out her latest nickname for him before darting inside before he could charge back in after her. Sakura closed the door quickly, ignoring her family's chuckles at her embarrassed expression, having seen what had gone on between the two. She leaned against the door briefly in an effort to get over the remaining warmth of Sasuke, before straightening.

"Admit it, pinky. You lost." Tenten remarked blandly. Sakura just looked even more flustered, knowing that if she still had blood in her veins, she would have turned twelve shades of red, and resembed a human tomato with pink hair. She couldn't contain the dopey sigh that left her.

"I know."

And with that, she disappeared promptly up the stairs and into her painting room.

Yeah, gag me.

But I finally added some blatant SasuSaku into it, after beating around the bush for six freaking chapters.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

Also: changed the summary a bit. Just an FYI. I did it in an effort to get more reviewers. I mean, over 1,000 hits and only seventeen reviews? That's depressing. Not that I don't love the people who do take the time to review. I do. Seriously. But I'm a review-whore. Hah hah.

Reviewer Replies:

_Laura-chan_: Thank you. I can totally picture Nej and Tenten getting all huffy about something even if Sakura didn't say anything, and I thought it'd be perfect here. And, y'know, because I was throwing them into the limelight enough for my tastes. Hah hah. Yeah, bad Sasuke! You should know better than to go to fugly whore! Hah hah. Oh god, punishment. Like the total pervert I am, I just got the sudden picture of Sasuke being bent over Sakura's knee and getting spanked. Kinky. lol.

_I Have An Alter Ego_: For the record, I'm whoring your name. It's just too cool for words. Hah hah. I did write ten? Whoops. I meant eight. For the time-being. Thanks for pointing it out to me! Yeah, that's what I was thinking when I wrote the end there. I mean, Sakura, even if she was a human, would just beat him into the ground. Ino would probably start laughing at him and slam the door in his face. Hinata...she'd probably just faint. Immediately. Hah hah. I don't necessarily hate her, I just think she's really freaking irritating and needs to get over Sasuke. That's all. Hah hah. And no, not really. The constellations have nothing to do with the chapter, and if you happen to see something between the chapter title and the chapter contents, its pure coincidence. I just like astronomy, is all. Hah hah. That was when the conversation was? Thanks! It's been forever since I actually read Twilight, because I think I lost it somewhere. I've been reading Breaking Dawn like a fiend. Even if Ms. Meyer did butcher Bella's personality, in my opinion. -grimace- Thanks for reviewing!

_IDon'tNeedToReply_: It did? Dammit, it did. Yeah, there's something funky going on with the story editor thing. Damn. I'm usually really good about catching it and fixing it, though. Damn. Thanks for pointing it out to me, though I don't think there's much I can do, unless I decide to delete six and then edit it and reupload it, which is just too troublesome for me. Ugh. Yeah, that's what I was thinking. He may just think of her as his own personal booty call, but he wouldn't want people to start thinking she's a whore or anything. Even if the vast public already thinks she is. She was just in a good mood, because she's pregnant and pregnant women are hormonal as hell. That's all. Tenten freaking rocks. 'Nuff said. But not as much as Sakura does. Perverteous maximus? Oh goody. Hah hah. Of course, Kiba's a pervert. He's gay. I think. I dunno yet. Sasuke hitting on someone without knocking them unconscious? Oh dear god, have mercy. Sakura, yes. Sasuke, mmm...no. Just no. Really? Thanks! I like writing NejiTen. It's fun. Hah hah. Well, if it makes waffles sacred, does that mean we can't eat them? because that might prove rather difficult... Yesh. Vegeta is the the emo girl in the corner with low self-esteem. It makes me giggle too. I made you speechless! SWEET! Sweet, sweet success! I wasn't even trying to be that funny, too. Hah hah. Cyber cookie! Whoot! Hell yes, I remember. That was like my favorite SasuSaku moment in the entire original Naruto, with him in the forest and her unconscious and in his arms. It made me happy. Hah hah. And if you want to re-read chapter six, I guess you can, but I don't care all that much. XP

_CelestialMaidenofSilence_: Yeah, I know. I was going to make her stay mad at him longer, but it just didn't want to work apparently. I tried doing it, and then I just gave up. ESpecially since Sakura's really bad about holding grudges in the first place. Hah hah. And of course I'll bring Sai in? He's like one of my favorite characters! Sadly, I won't be able to bring him in until later but he'll definitely be coming in! And for your question about Sakura's history, I hope this chapter answered it. I was considering the Akatsuki playing the Volturi for a while, but decided against it in the end. And yeah, Itachi will be coming in as a main antagonist, though I won't say anything more, you speaky person you. ;) Oooh, Mythology. Fun.

Thanks again for reviewing everyone!


	8. Capricornius

Note: I hadn't actually _planned_ on bringing Sai in this early. I had planned on at least writing another three chapters before he came in. So, I'm planning on him leaving by the end of Chapter nine and then bringing him in as a larger role later on.

So, um yeah.

Oh, and a Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet is my dream car, which is why I had to include it in this story. So, um yeah. Don't own it, sadly. But as soon as I have a hundred and thirty six thousand dollars to spend, you can bet I'm buying one of them! Oh, and if I have anything wrong with the information on it, let me know. I know next to nothing of cars. I have a picture of the car on my profile, though I couldn't find a picture of one in red, so just imagine the red instead of the yellow. lol.

This has been beta'd by the ever amazing _IDontNeedToReply_.

Disclaimer: Go see any of the other chapters. I'm too tired to write it.

Also: the main plot I have in mind will start. I added a hint of it in here just to see who would get it. ;)

* * *

When lunch came around on Monday, Sasuke was already seated across from Sakura, though instead of claiming a table for themsel

When lunch came around on Monday, Sasuke was already seated across from Sakura, though instead of claiming a table for themselves, they were seated with her family. Sakura was busy eyeing him in a speculative way that had him feeling surprisingly uncomfortable, and she was being abnormally quiet despite the conversation going on around them. "Didn't get much sleep last night, twinkle toes?" She remarked casually, lifting a pale pink eyebrow. He blinked, wondering if he looked that bad. He dimly remembered glancing in the mirror earlier in the morning and seeing the obvious bags under his eyes, which had looked slightly bleary, and that his black hair looked more unruly than normal.

"Not really." He answered, ignoring the immature nickname. It was true. He had stayed up most of the night studying for a test he had towards the end of the day, and had only gotten a few hours sleep as a result.

"That's hardly healthy."

"Shut up. Like you're one to talk." He decided to neglect mentioning that the test was in one of the classes he had to work at harder than normal to maintain a passing grade. Judging by the curl of Ino's lips, even if her black eyes were focused on Hinata, she had just read his mind again but neglected to mention it. He didn't know if he should thank the girl or not. Sakura continued to look amused despite his blatant comment of her immortality.

"Whatever you say, twinkle toes." Okay, now she was just trying to get a rise out of him. Tough luck for her, because he wasn't giving it. Instead, he just lifted a dark eyebrow condescendingly and remained quiet. With a roll of her onyx eyes, Sakura promptly drove her elbow into Shikamaru's side, who had begun to slump forward. "Sit up, baka." She told the tall brunette sternly. With a muttered 'troublesome', Shikamaru slowly sat up. "By the way, Sasuke: We're going hunting tonight and we're making this a long one, so we'll be gone several days." She twisted back around to face the ebony-haired boy quickly.

"Any idea how many days?" Sasuke refused to acknowledge the kernel of disappointment that settled in his chest at the thought of not seeing the rosette for several days.

"Three days at the least." Neji answered stiffly from the end of the table. He still hadn't relaxed completely around the Uchiha, nor particularly trusted him, though after several blatant, vivid threats from Sakura and Anko, who had become rather fond of Sasuke due to his smell, he had learned to tolerate his presence.

"Hn." Sasuke looked at the silent Sakura intently, as if trying to memorize her face. She stared back at him, lifting a pale pink eyebrow in a silent question that Sasuke promptly ignored. "Where are you going?" He asked instead.

"Couple states away. Apparently they're having something of a panther problem." Sakura answered immediately, a corner of her mouth quirking upwards at the mention of the carnivore. He remembered Sakura mentioning that panther happened to be her favorite, and cocked an eyebrow at the errant thought.

"You'll be able to make it there and back in three days?" The Uchiha asked, his tone vaguely condescending without him actually intending it to be. Sakura took no offense, and she smiled dryly instead.

"Please. We can probably make it there in a couple of hours." She answered, mimicking his arrogant tone with ease. There was a challenging gleam to her black eyes, and Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her in a warning that she either didn't notice or didn't acknowledge.

"Aa." Sasuke dropped the subject easily; now curious as to what other abilities they had, but too stubborn to try asking.

"Try not to miss me too much, lover-boy." _Where the hell does she get these nicknames? _Sasuke thought resentfully to himself, his eyebrows furrowing in irritation. Ino snorted, before turning to face the taller male with a nonchalant shrug.

"God only knows what goes on inside that big brain of her's. Half of the things I read, I don't understand." The blonde told him with a wry smile.

"Hey, are you two referring to me?" Sakura demanded immediately, earning an innocent smile from the longhaired blonde. Sasuke merely grunted in response, avoiding Sakura's questioning gaze as he averted his black eyes to the table. He had long since discovered that he was helpless against her whenever she decided to activate her Bambi eyes on him, even if she was no longer able to cry.

"Of course not, Forehead-chan." Ino chirped cheerfully, with a convincing smile pasted on. Sakura snorted rudely in response, shooting her closest friend a rather rude gesture after making sure Ino was actually looking at her. "Very mature, Sakura." The blonde rolled her eyes before turning swiftly back around to resume talking to Hinata. Tenten was busy sharpening a kitchen knife that she had inevitably decided she was snagging from the cafeteria. The blade easily vanished from sight whenever one of the venturing teachers wandered in with the thought of getting some lunch, before being swiftly whipped out again as they left. Sasuke saw what Sakura had been referring to: Tenten obviously knew how to handle a weapon, as she now handled the rather sharp blade carefully in a firm grasp. Sasuke had no idea what she was planning on using the kitchen knife for, and he had long since decided that he didn't want to know.

"-Sasuke? Helloooo, Sasuke." Sakura's lilting voice sunk into his thoughts, and he started violently at the unexpected intrusion. The pinkette had leaned forward in an effort to study his face more intently, with her liquid onyx eyes narrowed slightly in concentration, inadvertently giving him a bird's-eye view of her cleavage. He couldn't help but stare for a few moments, before Ino (at least he hoped it was Ino) subtly squashed his foot under the table and he yanked his gaze away with a barely noticeable flush on his pale face. Now poor Sakura just looked confused, but wisely decided not to say anything, though she did shoot him one more questioning look out of the corner of her eye. He held no doubt in his mind that she was currently questioning his sanity.

And probably his IQ too, now that he thought about it.

Ino chuckled again, and he made a mental note to watch what he thought around the mind-reader. "So, anyways. You feel like coming out to our place to see us off?" Sakura asked, breaking into his thoughts. Sasuke flashed her a blank look. "Right. Sorry. I'll see you there, I guess."

"Won't your family worry about how much time your spending with us, Uchiha?" Neji asked suddenly, his keen eyes immediately noticing how Sasuke stiffened, his dark eyes narrowing in anger, though Neji got the feeling it wasn't aimed at him in specific.

"My family's dead, so I don't think they'll mind much. I'll make sure to ask them the next time I can visit their _tombstones_." Sasuke answered snidely, with just a touch of sarcasm subtly thrown in, his tone of voice blatantly telling the older man to drop the subject. Everyone but Ino, who had read his mind again a second before he had said it, seemed surprised. Sakura looked the most surprised, her black eyes wide and her jaw slack. Mentally filing away the information to later poke and prod at, Sakura immediately hurried to break the awkward silence that had befallen the table at the disheartening news.

"So, I'll definitely see you there?" She directed the question at Sasuke, who still didn't look like he had relaxed all the way. He rolled his eyes at the question, nodding shortly at her. "Cool, come over at about eight. We'll have a going-away party. Y'know, for us." Sasuke snorted rudely at the joking tone in Sakura's cheery voice, semi-glaring at her.

"Yes, whatever you say, annoying." She had quickly learned that it was something of a nickname for her; his comeback for all of the embarrassing nicknames she had tagged him with. She merely grinned at him, before the bell rang and they all got to their feet. Sasuke was surprised to note that he had barely touched his lunch and wasn't feeling very hungry at the moment, and quickly snagged the unopened bag of chips to stow inside his bag in case he got hungry later during class. Apparently the Hatakes were persuasive even when they trying. He followed the distinctive pink hair out of the cafeteria before walking down another hallway for his next class period.

* * *

"Hey, Sasu-chan."

The raven-haired teenager ignored the childish nickname, now immune to it after it being repeatedly murmured so many times. Anko stood aside to allow him in, with that standard shit-eating grin on her startlingly attractive face. He stepped inside and barely heard the door close behind him. The rest of Sakura's family was gathered in the living room, looking completely normal. The image surprised him a little; he had kept imagining them as if they were going away on a camping trip, complete with lanterns and watermelons, even if they didn't eat and had excellent vision even when in pitch black surroundings. "Sakura's out back." Anko told him immediately after closing the door, pointing towards the back door in their kitchen with a slender index finger. Sasuke grunted in acknowledgement before bypassing her smirking family members.

After sliding through the glass door, he saw the pink hair that he remembered so well standing out in a stark contrast to the darkened trees around it. The pale pink tresses seemed to glow in the silvery moonlight of the dusky yellow moon that had begun to rise. Almost immediately, Sakura spun around as he stepped lightly onto the lush green grass. Her black eyes seemed to glisten in the moonlight, and seemed almost too large for her pale face. He could clearly see the immediate grin on her face, and then she disappeared briefly only to reappear almost instantaneously right in front of him. He blinked at her owlishly for a moment, as several of the synapses in his brain had failed to connect.

Holy crap, he hadn't even seen her move.

"Hey, twinkle toes." She greeted brightly. He merely blinked at her. She rolled her eyes, and took his hand in her's, tugging him in the direction of the trails in the back of her house. "Oh, c'mon."

"Don't we need a light or lantern or something?" Sasuke asked, not putting resistance against her pulling him in the direction of the trees, knowing that it would be pointless.. Sakura snorted.

"Please. You're in the company of a vampire. You don't need no stinking lights." She boasted without pausing. Sasuke fought back the urge to roll his eyes, and tugged his hand free of Sakura's grasp as soon as they had entered the forest. As much as he didn't mind her being a vampire, her frigid skin was something that would take some getting used to. She didn't seem to be bothered by it as she fell back a few steps to walk next to him. A comfortable silence befell them as they walked down the rough trail. After a few minutes, the naturally talkative Sakura found herself at her wit's end, though Sasuke showed no outward signs of being as bothered as she was. Not that she was surprised; his face was in an ever-present expressionless mask.

She studied his face intently after she made sure that he wasn't paying attention. In the moonlight, his skin looked even paler than its normal shade of… pale. The moonlight bathed his spiky blue-black hair in an almost unearthly sheen, as the shadows caused by the beams danced over his structured cheekbones, the shapely nose and his thin lips currently pulled into a serious slash. The shadow covering his neck and the edge of his sharp jawline were in stark contrast. Almost greedily, she trailed her gaze along his face, before arriving at his almost aristocratic onyx eyes. The pale light hid the slivers of cobalt blue that she knew for a fact were around his pupils, though the light also caused his eyes to almost glow in a way she knew that they normally didn't, even in better light.

With a start, she realized that those very same eyes were focused blandly on her, looking faintly smug as he had undoubtedly figured out that she had basically been gawking at him like a buffoon, minus the whole slack jaw thing. With a muffled squeak of embarrassment, Sakura whirled back around to face the front in a blindingly fast movement. "Like what you see?" Sasuke drawled arrogantly after a moment of silence. Sakura ducked her head further, stubbornly refusing to meet his faintly amused gaze.

"Oh shut up and die, Uchiha." She muttered viciously under her breath.

Sasuke smirked. "That's not what your eyes said a moment ago."

"Really? And just how do you know what my eyes were saying?" She challenged suddenly, yanking her head up to glower at him in defiance. He looked back down at her, definitely looking amused now.

"You're an open book, Sakura." He answered matter-of-factly. She blinked at the news. She knew that she was excellent at hiding her emotions, she would have to be, and the fact that Sasuke, who was anything but expressive hisself, could read her so easily was vaguely disturbing. Brushing off the topic after another moment of intense pondering, Sakura narrowed her eyes at him playfully.

"Oh, and just what did my eyes say?" She wondered. Sasuke smirked arrogantly at her instead.

"They said, 'Sasuke, take me now.'" He answered promptly, doing a horrible impersonation of Sakura's bell-like voice. The pink-haired woman stared at him for several long moments with wide eyes, obviously unsure if she should take it as a joke or not. After one more moment of staring at his expectant face, she doubled over in laughter. Sasuke gazed down at her hunched-over, shaking form bewilderedly.

"Sa-Sasuke, was that your idea of a joke?" She gasped out around her frantic giggles. He decided immediately not to answer, as he had the sneaking suspicion it would subject him to more teasing, which was definitely something he could do without. His lack of a response didn't seem to bother her, as Sakura kept on giggling like a maniac. "Holy…crap." She snickered shrilly. "I think that just made my day." After taking one more look at his response, she found herself in hysterical laughter once more. The Uchiha paused in walking to study her giggling form intently before continuing to walk, still silent. After several seconds, her laughter dwindled down to soft giggles. "What makes you think that I find you attractive?" She asked, still not sounding breathless.

Sasuke stared at her as if the answer was right in front of her. After a moment, it dawned on her and she immediately rolled her eyes. "Oh, because you're an Uchiha, is that it? Well yeah, no. As I've said before, stone-cold bastard is _not_ on my list of potential suitors. Sorry, try again when you have a personality makeover." Her voice was unendingly dry, emphasized by a loud, indelicate snort at the very end. A traitorous thought in the back of her mind quickly reminded her that she had been gawking at Sasuke like a fool not a few moments before, and had certainly thought he was attractive enough _then_. Sasuke flashed her a disbelieving look, and she lifted an eyebrow in return. "Anyways, try not to do anything too stupid while I'm gone, would you? I don't want to miss it." She changed the topic abruptly, grinning up at him challengingly.

"Hn." Sasuke semi-glared at her in response. She evidently took his monosyllabic answer as an agreement, as she dropped the topic and continued walking with an absent little smile on her full lips. After a moment of scanning his surroundings, Sasuke realized that he could no longer see her house and the only light they had was the moonlight peeking through the tops of the trees. "Where are we?"

"Nowhere in particular. We're about half a mile or so from the house." Sakura answered blithely.

"Should you stay close to the house?" Sasuke asked. She cast him a curious glance over her shoulder. "You're leaving soon aren't you?" He clarified.

She shrugged again, with a carefree smile on. "Please. I can make it there before you could even blink." She replied cheerfully.

"And what about me? Are you just going to leave me here?" He _definitely_ wasn't joking. At all. She gave him a look that told him that she thought he was rather stupid.

"Of course not, dumbass. I'll carry you over there." She rolled her eyes. Sasuke eyed her tiny, slender frame skeptically but decided to keep his comments to himself for the time being. She seemed to read the skepticism on is face, and rolled her large black eyes skyward in response. "Have some faith, twinkle toes. I'm stronger than I look." She chided playfully. Sasuke merely grunted in displeasure, surprised that she had been able to read him so easily. She suddenly paused, cocking her head to the side slightly. She reached for his hand and spun him around with ease in the other direction. "C'mon, they want us back."

"What happened to carrying me there?" Sasuke mocked her gently. She laughed, grinning up at him broadly.

"I would normally carry you, but I don't think I'd be able to carry both you and your massive ego." She shot back fiercely. Sasuke rolled his eyes at her snide comment, but didn't respond. "C'mon. Ino's getting antsy and that's never good." She tugged him to walk a little faster, and he did so grudgingly.

After a few steps, it was Sasuke who broke the silence.. "Can I ask you something?"

Her lips quirked up in a small smile. "Didn't you already?" The Uchiha next to her remained silent, only flashing her a pointed, rather irritated look. Sakura sighed. "Fine, fine. Lay it on me."

"What would you do if I asked you to turn me into a vampire?" He asked bluntly. Sakura paused to stare at him in disbelief, before snapping out of it and starting to walk once more. She averted her gaze to the ground, her mood sobering almost immediately.

She was silent for several excruciatingly long moments before she spoke, causing Sasuke to start worrying at the lack of cheeriness, her voice quiet and contemplative. "Well, I would first ask you what brought this on, and start seriously questioning your sanity."

"Why?"

"I wouldn't wish this life on anyone. I can't have children, which was something I wanted for the longest time before the whole affair with Hitoshi and my muggers happened, I don't age and am forever frozen at seventeen, I can't die, I don't have to breathe. It's a bit like a nightmare, except you don't wake up. I never thought I would miss sleep, but I do. A lot." She answered softly, not looking at him. He dropped the topic abruptly, sensing that it bothered her. "Now can I ask you a question, as well?"

"Hn." She took his short grunt as permission.

"Why would you want to become a vampire?"

He shrugged. "I was asking out of curiosity. Nothing more." His tone was evasive, and she frowned slightly before shrugging and nodding slowly.

"Alright, whatever you say, Sasuke." A small part in the back of his mind realized that this was the first time she had referred to him by his actual name while not in hysterics, all day, and not some ridiculous nickname. With a quick blink, the Uchiha realized that they had made it back to Sakura's house, where the rest of her family was waiting, glimmering dully in the moonlight. The lights in their house were off, and Sakura flitted to stand between Kakashi and Neji. Looking even smaller compared to the two tall, broad men next to her, she smiled daintily at Sasuke.

"Bye, Sasuke. See you in a few days." She wished him farewell, with a teasing little smile on. He merely blinked at her, and with one more blink, he realized that all of them were gone, nearly invisible in the dim moonlight. Shaking his head, he walked around the side of the Hatake house to where his beat-up, loaner car waited. His thoughts on the pink-haired vampire who had just left, Sasuke absentmindedly pulled out of the driveway and headed home, towards a lonely house.

* * *

Two days later, Sasuke opened the door at the unexpected, loud honk coming from in front of his house. With his backpack draped casually across his back, its strap gripped loosely by one hand, the raven-haired teenager stared at the deep burgundy car sitting quietly in his driveway. _What the hell? _He thought, closing and locking the door behind him and walking toward the car slowly. As he drew closer, he couldn't see anybody in the car. A loud grunt came from the inside, before a familiar pink-head appeared. Sakura had evidently bent over to get something from the dashboard. Pushing some of her short, pale pink hair from her face as she straightened, she turned and blinked warm, butterscotch eyes at Sasuke before grinning. "Hey, loser. You getting in or what?" She greeted.

Still speechless, Sasuke wordlessly crossed to the other side of the car and slid in. Sakura grinned at him, before wordlessly reaching for the stick between them and backing out of his driveway. "What're you doing here?" He asked her after a moment of examining the black interior of her convertible. Sakura shrugged, sliding effortlessly into the street. "And whose car is this?" He demanded, looking around. It was obviously a two-seater car, with a virtually nonexistent backseat. The roof was down, tucked neatly into the back. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"It's my car, dumbass. I don't take it out often due to the fact that it's so ostentatious. We all prefer to use Ino's car instead, the dark blue convertible, but she wouldn't let me use her car without her being here, and I realized that it had been a while since I brought this one out for a spin." She explained, before turning to face him and grinning. "Nice car, isn't it? It's a shame that it's last year's model, only being a 2008, but it runs like a dream and is very tastefully done, don't you think? 480 horsepower, and it can outrun a jetliner, at least on the ground." She continued on, her voice soft as if she was referring to her child.

"It's a _Porsche_." Sasuke said faintly, earning an audible laugh. Sakura was picking up speed slowly, and glancing at the speedometer, he was surprised to note that it was inching towards eighty-five miles an hour, but he could still hear her fine even with the roof down.

"Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet." She corrected blithely. Sasuke let out a low whistle, unable to help himself. The passenger seat was rather small, but not cramped.

"So what are you doing here? Neji said that you would be gone for at least another two days." Sasuke asked. Sakura shrugged.

"I came back early. Hey, do you want coffee? We're passing by a coffee joint now and I hear they have pretty good coffee. Not that I would know or anything." She changed the topic swiftly. Seeing as he had extra time due to Sakura's breakneck speed, Sasuke agreed and she pulled in quickly. Sasuke began to pull out his wallet, but she waved it away with an eye roll. "I'm paying, idiot. What do you want?" He told her his order, and she quickly passed it on to the speaker, before being told to pull up. The line was rather long, not that she was surprised. After looking closer, she recognized a lot of the students currently waiting in line anxiously. When her turn passed, the tanned, dark-haired young man turned around to ask for the money but paused abruptly upon seeing the beautiful face perched in the car..

Suddenly stammering, he asked for the correct amount, which she handed to him with a dainty little smile that seemed to render him speechless. After a moment, he disappeared into the back to prepare the coffee and she had to laugh at the disgruntled look on Sasuke's face. "Awww, don't worry, twinkle toes. You're the only one for me." She cooed out mockingly, cupping his face in her wintry hands, laughing as he slapped her hand away from his face, scowling. Someone clearing their throat caused her to look back up, and the dark-haired boy was holding out the coffee with a small bag, as well. She frowned and opened her mouth to say something but she was waved on, with a longing look on the boy's face.

She handed the coffee over to Sasuke, along with the bag. "There are cup holders in the dashboard if you need them. And find out what's in that bag, would you?" She pointed at the discreet cup holders all the while maneuvering skillfully out of the crowded parking lot. Sakura's Porsche was gaining a lot of looks from gawking pedestrians, and Sasuke busied himself with the coffee and the bag in order to refrain from smirking at them.

"It's a muffin." Sasuke declared, peeking into the bag after having put down his drink. Sakura burst into laughter. "I think he liked you." The Uchiha commented, his tone determinedly bland as he removed his coffee and sipped at it. Sakura chuckled again.

"Oh, the joys of being drop dead gorgeous, ne? Anyways, you can have it. Lord knows I can't do anything with it." Sakura easily flicked on her blinkers and switched lanes as they neared the school. Sasuke briefly considered refusing, but seeing as she had paid for it (well, not really) and he hadn't had a chance to eat breakfast, it couldn't hurt. Removing the large muffin from the bag, the Uchiha bit into and then devoured it quickly. The coffee man had buttered it and warmed it up. As much as it had irked him to see someone practically drooling on Sakura, having a gorgeous friend really did have its perks. The parking lot wasn't nearly as crowded as it normally was, and Sakura slid easily into a parking spot, before flicking a button to make the roof lift up and over their heads firmly.

She gestured for Sasuke to get out, and she did so as well, before she remote-locked the car and set up the alarm. She doubted anyone would actually bother to steal her Porsche, but was rather paranoid about her 'baby.' She walked along the perimeter of her car to join Sasuke. "Meet me here after school and I'll give you a lift home, as you don't actually have a car with you at the moment." She told him. Sasuke eyed her strange lack of books or a bag skeptically as he chewed on the almost entirely gone muffin.

"Where are your books?" He asked, swallowing.

She flashed him a cheeky grin. "I finished all the homework from two days ago before we left and it's currently sitting in my locker."

Sasuke nodded, as they headed in. "I'm going to the library. See you at lunch, Sasuke." The pinkette tossed him a casual wave over her shoulder as she almost danced down the hallway in the direction of the library. Sasuke walked off in a random direction with the intention of wandering around aimlessly until the dobe got there. An arrogant smirk crossed his face when he thought of Naruto, and his reaction when he saw what car Sasuke was getting a lift home in.

He could not _wait_ for school to be over.

* * *

"Sasuke! Twinkle toes! Over here!" Sakura waved at him, nearly being drowned in the masses of black, brown, and blonde. It had wound up raining part way through the day, so most of the students who usually ate outside were forced to eat inside, making the normally crowded cafeteria even more crowded. Holding his tray precariously in his hand, he walked over to her with Naruto in tow. He grimaced when he realized that Naruto would be joining them for lunch. Ever since his purple-haired girlfriend had left for a 'family emergency', the blonde had become pathetically clingy and had decided (without permission) that he would join him and Sakura for lunch.

"Twinkle toes." Naruto snickered, his comment being promptly ignored by Sasuke. Sasuke slid in across from Sakura, with the knucklehead sliding in next to him. Unlike the rest of the class, who just looked pathetic and bedraggled from the rain outside, Sakura looked even more beautiful than normal, if possible. The raindrops clung to her hair, glittering in the wispy light of the fluorescent lights above them. Her clothes were damp, though that only served to cling to her frame instead of hanging off of them as most wet clothes did. Sakura eyed Naruto before glancing at Sasuke curiously, earning a shrug as an answer. "Hey, Sakura-chan. I hear that you've been snagging teme's time away from his friends."

Sakura smiled absently at Naruto's joke; she was still not close enough to him to trust him much, and Sasuke saw the immediate change in her posture as she adjusted to the unexpected presence. "I've hardly been monopolizing Sasuke's time, Naruto. It seems more like he doesn't want to leave me alone. If I may be so bold, I would say that he has become quite the stalker." She winked inconspicuously at Sasuke, who was currently scowling in displeasure. Naruto roared with laughter at his best friend's expense.

"Funny. I didn't get that feeling, as _you_ were the one to pick me up, Sakura." Sasuke retorted immediately with a smug smirk. "Now who's the stalker?"

Sakura wagged her finger at Sasuke. "Careful twinkle toes, or I won't give you a lift home today."

"Fine. Dobe will." Sakura immediately turned her beseeching look upon the helpless Naruto, complete with a pouting, quivering lower lip.

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you Naruto?" She asked sweetly, leaning forward earnestly. The normally loudmouthed blonde seemed at a loss for words, before snapping out of it and turning to his closest friend guiltily.

"Sorry, teme." He didn't really sound apologetic, merely bashful. Sasuke grunted in response, and ignored his friend just to get a rise out of him. "You shouldn't be so mad, y'know. She's your girlfriend, after all." Naruto continued, his voice rising. The Uchiha stiffened at the blunt insinuation, turning slightly to glare at the blonde defiantly. Sakura didn't look too bothered by Naruto's statement, as she leaned forward with her chin on the palm of her hand, with one pale pink, thin eyebrow lifted upwards in vague amusement.

"Sakura and I aren't dating." Sasuke cut off his friend before the blonde could say something else stupid, his voice colder than normal. Naruto didn't look like he believed the Uchiha, but shrugged with an odd little smile present on his face.

Sakura then decided to jump in and take the glare off of the Uzumaki. "Oh, really Sasuke? What would you do if I told you to follow me to the bathroom so I could jump your bones?" Naruto snickered into his lunch at the look on Sasuke's face at Sakura's suggestive comment, having to grit his teeth to refrain from yelling as something hard squished his foot under the table. He shot a dirty look at his best friend, before managing to muffle his snickers.

_I would go, hell yeah! And then ask which bathroom. _A devilish part of Sasuke's mind broke in loudly, before being squashed like a bug by the defiant (and oblivious) Sasuke. He couldn't help but agree inwardly, however. If Sakura did indeed tell him that, he'd have her on her back (because Uchiha's are_ always_ top) faster than she could say 'I was joking, you dimwit.'

"-ve to work on the way you keep spacing out." With a sudden blink, he realized that Sakura was looking at him oddly as her full lips formed the words. Momentarily hypnotized, Sasuke studied her lips intently, before she snapped her fingers under his nose in order to get his attention once more. Instinctively, he clasped the smaller digits in his larger hand and stared at her. She frowned at him, tugging her hands free with ease. "Seriously, Sasuke. You space off more than Ino, and she's a natural _blonde_." She continued, ignoring Naruto's offended, eloquent protest of 'hey!'

Sasuke frowned at her. "Are you questioning my intelligence?"

She grinned suddenly. "You betcha."

He scowled, and turned towards his lunch, as on this particular day, lunch was shorter than most due to the pep rally at the end of the school day to boost school spirit for their teams. He was so looking forward to it.

Note the sarcasm.

He and several of his friends had decided to meet up and hang out in the cafeteria while the pep rally went on in the gymnasium.. They had originally planned on sneaking out, but someone had overheard and ratted to one of the teachers, so that was out, as the teachers would be keeping a close eye on them. "Say, Sakura-chan. You going to the pep rally?" Naruto asked the amused rosette eagerly, practically inhaling his third bowl of ramen. Sakura shook her head, smiling wryly.

"Nah. I've never had much school spirit, and loud noises give me a headache." She answered, flashing Sasuke a quick look that Naruto missed completely. He knew immediately that she was lying through her teeth and that the real reason that she didn't want to be in the large, crowded room was because there was nobody strong enough to watch her back in case the smell became too overwhelming. He nodded shortly to let her know that he had gotten it.

"Yeah. Same here." Naruto agreed quickly, his voice rather muffled due to the wet noodles halfway hanging from his mouth. He brightened. "Say, why don't you come and hang out with us during the rally? We're hanging out at the cafeteria, and it will be all of our friends that teme _used _to eat lunch with before he decided to start stalking you." He grinned mischievously at his best friend out of the corner of his eye. Sakura flicked a piece of wet noodle away from her face and onto the table casually, the faint hint of a grimace on her lovely face as she did so. She shot a pleading look to Sasuke, who, smirking, promptly ignored her silent plea for help by turning to his lunch.

"I don't know…" She hesitated.

"Pleeease?" Naruto cooed glibly. After another moment or two of debate, she nodded with a slow smile. "Great! You'll like it, I swear! They have this cheap plastic furniture that they let us screw around with, and curtains on the stage that it's fun to catch someone in and tickle to death or something." The grin that Naruto flashed to Sasuke, whose expression immediately darkened, informed Sakura that something had happened involving curtains and Sasuke, and made a mental note to ask about it later. "They also let us take off our shoes and slide all around on the stage. 'Course, then your socks gets all black and everything. And they don't care if you get loud or anything. Just be careful of Kiba, he has a wandering hand." Naruto continued eagerly, his face scrunching up adorably at the mention of dirty socks, and Sakura couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped her. "It's a total blast, I promise!"

"I'll be there. Promise." She promised him, right before the bell rang, and she got to her feet. She disappeared swiftly out of the cafeteria and to her next class, now wondering where Sasuke's tickle spots were, and how she could get to them. The idea "pin him down" came to her mind and she giggled again in anticipation.

* * *

"So about these tickle spots…" Sakura drawled later on, once they were in her car on her way home. Sasuke scowled, his cheeks tinted ever so slightly, and looked out of the window at the gray sky that hovered above them. It was raining rather heavily by the time that the pep rally was finished, and she had opted to leave the roof up. When they had approached her car, it had been surrounded by a gaggle of boys of various types looking as if they wanted to steal her car. With a few well-placed smiles and a couple empty promises, she had been able to free her precious car from their grasp and out of the parking lot. Naruto's expression when he had seen Sasuke and Sakura get into her Porsche was one Sasuke would treasure forever.

"I am going to _kill _him." Sasuke muttered under his breath. Sakura let out a trilling laugh at his sour mood, which hadn't evaporated from lunch or the pep rally, in which every one of his friends (who wasn't a mute) took turns in ragging on the irate Uchiha. The rosette had blended in with his friends flawlessly, and had easily won over Kankuro with her expansive knowledge of puppets. Gaara she had impressed with her knowledge of cars, and the others with various other knowledge. Sasuke had refrained from hovering over her like a mother hen, and had instead implanted himself in front of the stage stubbornly, his dark eyes tracking the girl. Indeed, the group had spent most of the time running about like a maniac on the loose (Naruto) and cracking dirty jokes that would have made Jiraiya speechless if the man had still been alive.

Surprisingly, the small girl wasn't bothered by the foul jokes at all, laughing at them and at one point telling a particular joke concerning nymphomaniacs, the Jewish people, and rednecks that had had Kiba in hysterics on the floor. Sasuke didn't think the joke had been altogether that funny, but had shrugged it off.

"Now, now Sasuke. He's your best friend... Plus, I'm not going to help you hide the body." Sakura chuckled. Noticing that the scenery seemed to blur a little on the edges, Sasuke glanced at the speedometer and noticed that it was inching towards one hundred.

"How many times have we passed my house?" Sasuke asked suddenly. Sakura chuckled, looking extremely unabashed.

"Five or six times, I think. I've been doing large loops for the last fifteen or so minutes just to see how long it would take you to notice. " She answered. "I'm shocked, Sasuke. I'd have figured that a genius like you would have figured it out ages ago." Sasuke shot her the infamous Uchiha Glare, which was promptly ignored by the vivacious woman next to him. "Now, let's go to my place." She spun the steering wheel around in a move that would have made a NASCAR driver proud before speeding off in another direction. Sasuke kept his complaints to himself, choosing instead to eye the vampire next to him.

"Can I ask you something?" Sasuke broke into the silence, other than the soft rock music from a CD that Sakura had popped in some time ago. She nodded, looking at him intently. "Keep your eyes on the road!"

She rolled her eyes but did as he bid. "Fine, Sasuke."

"You mentioned that you didn't like to bring this car out because it attracts too much attention. So why did you buy the thing?"

She shrugged in a very blasé manner. "It's an indulgence. It's as close as we can get to running without actually doing so." She answered, turning a corner sharply.

"Is running fun?" Sasuke wondered, and realized too late that he had said his question aloud.

She turned to grin broadly at him, taking her eyes off the road quickly. "Nothing compares. I'll see if I can show you sometime." She told him, just as she was pulling up into her large, multiple car driveway. "Hey, they're back early!" She called back to him, bounding eagerly out of her car as she sniffed the air lightly. "And they brought company, by the smell of it.."

"Good or bad?"

"Good. They know better than to bring bad here." She answered decisively, before striding up the neatly trimmed lawn and up to her door. She was about to throw it open when it opened of its own accord. The figure standing at the door was unfamiliar, and Sasuke automatically tensed at the sight of the dark red eyes peering blandly down at them.

"Hello, Hag."

So um, yeah. I brought Sai in. He'll be gone by the end of the next chapter, though. XP

EIGHT reviews for last chapter!?

That's twice what I normally get! I love you all. Seriously. If you need a lung or a kidney, an organ I can spare, you got it.

**Review Replies**:

_ladyDV011_: There you are. I thought you had quit reading or something and that made me sad. Glad to see your back! I updated, I hope you like it.

_Affectionate_: Amazing? Your too kind. And I did better this time around. You have no idea how happy it made me when I saw how many reviews I got. Hah hah. Yeah. I always liked Rosalie's history, and so I took it and twisted it around slightly to make it unique. I'm glad you liked it, though. I didn't really. lol. Yeah, no real thoughts of Sasuke's in this. I tried, but it didn't want to come out. So I skipped it. Call me lazy. XD Thank you! I liked writing that part. Of course, I'm not sure alot about their skin but I can assume it can tingle like our's can. lol.

_Laura-chan_: Yeah. I had toyed with the idea of making him freak out, but decided not to as he would probably consider a challenge for him to face and wouldn't back down. So I made it to where he took it rather well. Hah hah. They won't get officially get together for several more chapters as we all know they're emotionally-inept fools, but there will be plenty of hints to suffice! I hope.

_KurenaiBara-chan_: All caps, huh? I take it you liked it. I updated. I hope you like it!

_ArjunaAnja_: Did I get your name right? I think I did... anyways, I can't tell you that! Not even my beta, the awesome person that she is, doesn't know, if it makes you feel any better. I promise you'll like it. I have lots of twists in it. ;) You've never read Twilight. Find it, and whore it. Just beware, because it gets worse as the series continues. -grimace-

_I Have an Alter Ego_: I am, totally! You saw that too!? I was sitting there, reading it, going 'what the hell?!' This isn't Bella. This is some other person! -shows you in flail-y love- Nobody else seems to get what I mean when I say that. I hated Eclipse. Even more so than New Moon. I felt Ms. Meyer had redeemed herself in the first part of Breaking Dawn, and even made me hate Jacob a little less (not much, but a little) and then totally ruined it for me. I know, right? I was getting all excited and even had to put my book down on occasion because I couldn't read due to how hard my hands were shaking from anticipation. And then, nothing. Maybe the violence addict in me coming out though. I disliked how she turned Bella into basically a Mary-Sue. I mean, I know vampires are supposed to be perfect and everything, but it seemed Bella didn't keep any of her old quirks and that makes me sad. That's why I got into Twilight in the first place: because the protagonist was a quirky girl with a dry sense of sarcasm, like me. But I'm done ranting now: And yeah. I'm not original enough to come up with creative gifts. lol. 'I hugged some to death?' That had me laughing so hard, like the dork I am. And of course they fought. I'm planning on fights in the future, though probably not too many... ? Thanks. My beta commented on my tendency to be rather descriptive, sometimes bordering on too much. Blame my fourth grade teacher. lol.

_CelestialMaidenofSilence_: Yeah, I made her gift luck. Mostly because I didn't want something that was overly powerful, like Ino's, and was rather nondescript, relatively speaking. And I had planned on originally planned on making her not gifted, but then the idea for luck came into mind and I was like 'that'll do!' So she became lucky. lol. Yeah. It might've been a bit too soon to have her tell him, but once I got that out of the way, I could progress to the main conflict, so I did it a bit early. Yeah, I based her's off of Rose's slightly, but added my own twist to make it quirky. Have fun with the papers. lol.

_Kingdom-Hearts-Angel_: Here it is, I hope you keep reviewing!


	9. Aquila

Bwuhaha, I really am too evil with Sai. I hope I made it up to those who complained about his lack of an appearance.

Also: did I keep him in character? I'm almost positive I did, but he's really hard to do. Yeesh. Much harder than I had planned on.  
And with the next chapter, the plot I have in mind will begin to unfold. I know it took a while, but I wanted to spend more time on Sakura and Sasuke before I did anything else. Which I did. As you shall see by the end of this chapter (Don't skip!)

Many, many thanks to everyone who reviewed. You guys totally made my day!

This has, of course, been edited by the ever amazing _IDontNeedToReply_!

Sorry if this one's a little late. I sent it to my (wonderful, amazing, incredible) beta on Sunday, and I wasn't able to check my email yesterday so... yeah.

Disclaimer: I lay no claim to Naruto, which belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, or Twilight, which belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I am merely using them for my twisted amusement.

Also: I am a total MCR ADDICT. I have accepted that, and no I'm not looking for any help, thanks. So, um, I'll probably be using a lot of their songs. -nod-

* * *

"Hello, Hag."

Sakura seemed to be freeze at the insulting nickname, and Sasuke found himself wondering if she was going to attack the offensive, black-haired man standing in the doorway to her house. Instead, she let out a loud, tinkling laugh and launched herself at the feminine-looking man in a blurred motion. "Sai, you sonuvabitch. What're you doing here?" Sakura laughed, wrapping her arms around Sai's abdomen in a hug. Sai returned her enthusiastic hug awkwardly, before stepping out of her grasp. After a moment, Sasuke recognized the name as the one belonging to the artist Sakura had mentioned who had given her tips. Suddenly, the blonde one, Ino, appeared next to Sai with a slightly flirtatious smile.

"We found him on our way back, and he decided to join us for a bit." The blonde explained, batting her eyelashes coyly at Sai as she spoke. Sasuke's face went slack with surprise, having seen firsthand just how attached at the hip she was with Shikamaru, and how flirty she was acting around the newcomer. Seeming to sense Sasuke's confusion, Sakura flashed to stand next to Sasuke before taking his hand and tugging him forward a few steps.

"Sasuke, this is Sai. He's the artist I told you about. Sai, this is Sasuke, a friend of mine." She introduced, seeming to shoot the effeminately dressed vampire a warning look. Sasuke stiffened as Sai studied him intently, before flicking his burgundy eyes to Sakura.

"He's the one in all of your paintings?" Sai clarified blandly, earning a loud protest from the short rosette. Sasuke didn't know whether to be bothered or not by the fact she was secretly painting him without his knowledge, and settled for smirking down at the flustered pinkette. She avoided his gaze before punching Sai in the arm hard enough to make the black-haired vampire stumble slightly. Ino immediately was at his side to help him right himself with another flirty smile. Sasuke bent down to whisper into Sakura's ear in an effort to remain discreet.

"Mind telling me what's up with her?"

"Long story short: Shika considers it too 'troublesome' to show attention to the attention-whore who is Ino, and she takes it out on him by flirting with Sai, even if he doesn't know it.. I have to admit, a jealous Shika-kins is fun to watch, especially since he refuses to do anything about her flirting." She explained quietly, with a low chuckle. Sasuke found himself vaguely amused by her nickname for Ino's mate, and had to wonder just where she got the rather random names.

"Oh, shut up, forehead." Ino retorted, whirling around despite not looking the least bit abashed, Sasuke noted wryly. Instead of continuing the would-be argument, Ino danced to Sasuke's side and latched onto his arm greedily. Sasuke blinked slowly at her, surprised at her sudden display of affection. Up until now she'd spoken to him, but she usually ignored him in favor of speaking to her pink-haired friend. "So, Sasuke-kun. What'd you think of Sakura's Porsche?" She cooed, batting her topaz eyes at him. He stared back, feeling vaguely amused and vaguely repulsed at the same time. Blondes had never been his type.

"It was fine." He answered shortly.

"Ino-pig, leave Sasuke alone!" Sakura snapped at her closest friend, sounding irritated as she crossed her arms under her breasts defiantly. Sasuke's gaze fell a little bit south of the rosette's face and stayed there for a moment, before realizing that he was staring and yanking his gaze upwards quickly. She looked irritated, though a light smile was playing around her lips. Still clutching his arm, Ino turned to face her friend and smiled innocently at the shorter girl.

"Jealous much, Sakura?" The blonde drawled, causing Sasuke to temporarily freeze at the unexpected remark. Neither of the two females vampires shot him a look, too engrossed in their teasing. Right off the bat Sakura rolled her eyes, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, please, Ino." She snorted indelicately.

"Remember, I read all." Ino tapped the side of her temple with a sardonic little smirk. Sakura arched a thin pink eyebrow, mimicking Ino's smirk perfectly.

"Oh, really? Can you read this?"

Less than a moment later, Ino jumped infinitesimally and started laughing, wagging her finger playfully at the mischievous-looking, pink-haired woman. "Oh, now that's hardly nice, Forehead girl." She chided around her giggles. Sakura merely shrugged, looking unabashed.

"Girls, aren't you forgetting someone?" Kakashi appeared on the porch, his eyes crinkling in what was obviously a smile at his 'daughters'' antics. Simultaneously, the two girls stuck their tongues out at him before bursting into laughter. Quickly, Sasuke found himself herded into the living room by a firm, wintry hand on his arm, which evidently belonged to Tenten, who promptly disappeared to stand next to Neji. Shikamaru was sitting on the end of the couch, looking disgruntled. Sasuke saw what Sakura had been referring to. The ruggedly handsome brunette's face was torn between trying to look like he wasn't worried about his mate's flirting, and like he wanted to rip off Sai's head. Kakashi had disappeared, not that Sasuke cared any. If he was lucky, Kakashi wouldn't come back and ask about the book that he had been given a few visits back.

Several separate conversations went on around him, and after a moment or two, Sai turned to him with a bland, very fake smile. "So you're Sasuke, eh? Hag told me about you." Sasuke cocked a black eyebrow at Sai's bluntness, and merely nodded. "I'm rather surprised she found someone. It's hard to imagine anyone being able to stand her."

"We get along fine." Sasuke answered shortly, wondering where he was going with the conversation. Sai nodded slightly, his dark red eyes focused outside on the pinkette, and thankfully he dropped the subject before he could say anything to offend the proud Uchiha.

A few moments later, Sakura came back into the room with a still-giggling Ino at her side. The blonde flashed a coy smile at Sai before going to sit next to him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shikamaru's expression grow a little more black at the flirty exchange of his mate and the clueless vampire, and then saw Sakura fighting back a smile in front of him. He had to admit; it was rather entertaining to watch the lazy Hatake, not that he'd ever tell anyone that, and Ino seemed a bit too busy hitting on Sai to bother to read his mind and possibly blab it out to anyone. Sakura's family seemed to have warmed up to him, even Neji, though it might have had to do with the fact that they had a human-feeding vampire in their midst if they had to dispose of his corpse for some reason.

The next few hours passed quickly, and somehow Sasuke found himself agreeing to do his homework at the Hatake house. It was probably due to the skillful way Sakura turned the Bambi eyes on him when he declared that he needed to return home. It had been rather intimidating the way that everyone else had finished their homework in only a few minutes when it took him a while longer to finish. By about eleven o'clock, he had decided that he really needed to get home. Sakura volunteered to give him a lift, ignoring the perverted snickers of her family, and now he was currently perched in her two-seater Porsche, listening to the quiet crooning of the lead singer, Gerard Way, Sakura had mentioned, of a band called 'My Chemical Romance.'

_And I would drive onto the end with you  
__A liquor store or two  
__Keeps the gas tank full  
__And I feel like there's nothing to do_

_Depressing song, _Sasuke thought morosely to himself. Good band, depressing song. "Sorry about Sai. He can be a bit much to handle." Sakura broke in after a few more hoarse screams, earning a confused blink from the Uchiha. He turned from staring out the window to stare at her. The glow of the dashboard made her seem even more pale than normal, throwing her high cheekbones into sharp relief and making her seem gaunt somehow, though still as beautiful. The lights flickered in her light butterscotch eyes, which were fixed firmly on the windshield for once. She had put the roof back down, as the rain had stopped and the black velvet sky above them glittered with silver stars.

"Don't worry about it." Sasuke answered slowly. At one point, the raven-haired vampire had taken him aside to warn him against hurting Sakura with that false smile of his on, but they had had almost no interaction otherwise.

"Can you tell me about him?"

"Why?" Sakura took her eyes off the road, and turned to meet his gaze, looking curious.

"Keep your eyes on the road." Sasuke ordered briefly. "I'm just asking because I don't think I've ever seen anyone that…" he trailed off as he searched for an appropriate word.

"Blank?" Sakura offered, flicking on her blinker and switching lanes to move from behind a large truck to the front of it. Sasuke nodded, looking at her earnestly. "Sai is difficult to explain. I guess the best way I could describe him is to say that he just doesn't have emotions. Not like you, who recognizes them but doesn't show them, he doesn't understand them, and _doesn't have them_. He remembers very little about being a mortal, and I don't have the full story. What I do know is that he once had a close friend, close enough to consider his brother. As you know, Sai is an extremely talented artist and is gifted, like me. His ability is the ability to bring his portraits to life, relatively speaking, to do his bidding."

"Pardon?"

"Let me try to explain. From what I know, he takes some of his venom and adds it to the ink which he uses to create his portraits. By mixing the two, the ink becomes... bonded to him; that's the best way I can think of describing it. I don't quite know how it works, and it kinda grossed me out a bit too much to ask." Sakura explained.

"Aa."

"Anyways, back on topic. Sai's brother, I never learned his name, as it bothers Sai for him to be mentioned, was killed by a rogue vampire that had been newly turned and with no one to watch over him to prevent massacres. In a fit of fury at the loss of his only friend and pseudo-family, Sai tracked down the vampire, though at the time he didn't know what it was. His intent was to gain revenge, and after searching for a few weeks, he found him. The only problem is, the death of his brother had been a hoax. His brother had been turned by a paranoid vampire with the intent of creating a guard, but had gotten away, and the paranoid vampire had had to stage his brother's' death in order to evoid suspicion. However, his brother was beyond reason and attacked Sai in a fit of blood lust, effectively turning Sai into a vampire.

"Then, instead of having just one rabid, untrained vampire on the loose, they had two. This went on for several months. Did you ever hear of Slicer 'n' Dicer, the mass murder over near Oregon? Yeah, that was them. When Sai was about six months old, the vampire who had turned Sai's brother tracked them down and brought them back to his place. Apparently, the vampire who turned Sai's brother had been disposed of. From then on, Sai's training to basically become a robot began. He was taught not to show emotions, was given an oppressive atmosphere in which he couldn't expand on his personality, and he didn't have a lot of human interaction.

"His brother wound up being killed in an argument with a more experienced vampire before he was a year old, and Sai hurried to defend his brother and won. Their creator had banned fighting amongst them, and as a result, Sai was cast out of the guard with no warning or preparation. Luckily, the training he had been forced to undergo had also trained him to overcome his blood lust, which he had under excellent control. Kakashi and I had met him at one point, and had attempted to sway him to our way of living, but he had become too accustomed to feeding off of humans, and after trying animals for a while, he reverted back. That's the main reason why he doesn't live with us, as we have to remain inconspicuous, and having a human-feeder amongst us makes that extremely difficult.

"As you can see, Sai has real trouble with interacting with a lot of people, and it takes someone with a thick hide to be able to stand him. He is infuriating, and I have fought with him on several occasions and won because of his stupidity. Despite his… faults, he's a good man and usually comes through for us in the end." She finished, just as they pulled into his driveway.

"I'd love to see how he interacts with the dobe." Sasuke commented, earning a fit of helpless giggles from the rosette.

"That would be priceless." She admitted. "The stars are pretty, aren't they?" She changed the topic abruptly, as she leaned back in her seat and tilted her head back to look up at the nighttime sky.

"It's fine." Sasuke answered shortly, his dark eyes focused on the softly smiling pink-haired beauty next to him. Slowly, she lifted her head to look at him, liking the way the lights of her car seemed to reflect in his dark, dark eyes.

"Sasuke, is everything alright?" She asked, unnerved by the serious, contemplative look in his night-sky eyes. He didn't answer, as his lips pursed ever so slightly and he studied her speculatively.

"What're the chances of you killing me if I did something you didn't expect?" He asked her evenly. Looking completely befuddled, she took her time to answer as she studied his face intently to try and figure out where he was going with this.

"It depends, but I probably wouldn't lose control. I'm too used to you now to really hurt you." She finally answered warily. Sasuke nodded, switching his gaze to look outside the windshield, as if he had expected a light to come on in the otherwise dark house, not that one would.

After all, he was the only living Uchiha left.

Sakura sat up more, not seeming to realize that there were now only a few scant inches between the two of them due to the smallness of her Porsche, but Sasuke certainly did. His breathing fogged against the bridge of her petite nose, as he stared into her confused golden eyes. Then, on a whim, he dipped his head and pressed his lips to her's lightly. He made no attempt to keep her from breaking it off, as he knew that she would be able to do a lot of damage to him once she got her wits back. Sakura stayed frozen, but after a moment, she responded by returning his soft kiss tentatively. Her small hands fisted in his shirt to drag him closer. She didn't open her mouth to him, and he didn't bother trying to ask for permission, as he knew he wouldn't get it.

After several long moments, Sasuke broke off the kiss and wordlessly grabbed his things and prepared to get out, when a small hand stopped his action. "What the hell was that, Sasuke?" Sakura asked him, staring at him intently.

Feeling heat flood his cheeks, Sasuke avoided her curious topaz eyes.

"Sorry. I couldn't stop myself." He answered, before ducking out of her cold grasp and closing the door to her convertible behind him. Still slightly dazed at how gentle Sasuke had been when he had kissed her, she merely nodded.

"Um, alright. I'll see you here tomorrow." She told him hesitantly, before looking away from his dark eyes and pulling swiftly out of his driveway. Sasuke stared after her before slowly disappearing inside his dark, lonely home for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Sakura was already waiting for him in her burgundy Porsche. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back against the headrest of her chair. As soon as his feet touched the damp grass, she opened her eyes and grinned at him in that normal cheeky manner of her's. She had apparently decided to forgive him for his odd behavior last night, he noted, not feeling relieved by it at all. "Hey, loser. Ready for another day of learning pointless shit that will do us absolutely no good?" She chirped cheerfully, straightening and twisting the volume dial down idly. He cocked an eyebrow at the vulgar word slipping carelessly out of her lips. Sakura was normally very good about not swearing, and to hear her swear was something of a shock.

He slipped into the passenger side and placed his messenger bag at his feet carelessly. She seemed to quickly realize what had surprised him, and smiled bashfully as she pulled effortlessly out of his driveway. "Sorry. Sai's rather vulgar, and he rubs off on me. It'll disappear when he leaves, though." She explained flippantly.

"Aa." He listened with half an ear to the music softly playing from the stereos as they fell back into a comfortable silence.

_On and on  
__We carry on through the fears  
__Disappointed faces of your peers  
__Take a look at me  
__Cause I could not at all_

Now he dimly recognized the voice of the singer as Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance, though the music sounded rather different from the song he had heard last night. Another few seconds after that, he recognized the song as 'Welcome to the Black Parade', a popular song that had been requested over the radio on a regular basis by various listeners. "Feel free to change the CD. I happen to like this band a lot, so I listen to them on a regular basis. The CDs are under your seat." Sakura told him, pointing with a slim index finger. He fumbled around under his seat without managing to crack his head into the dashboard and found the thick case. Removing it, he was surprised to note that it was crammed with various kinds of CDs. The Uchiha started at the beginning, scanning each title before moving on.

He paused when the words 'Tenacious D' blared suddenly at him. He lifted a dark eyebrow and showed the CD to Sakura with a slight smirk on. She blinked, her deep green eyes landing on the title. She grinned, unabashed, before switching her gaze back to the road briefly. "What? I think the lyrics are hysterical." She offered as an excuse, shrugging. Rolling his eyes, Sasuke continued on. Finally, he found one; a silver and black one with 'the 69 Eyes' emblazoned on it and swiftly popped it in before sliding the My Chemical Romance CD back in its place. A second later, Sakura started humming along. "Good choice. Put it on five." She told him, and he did so without question. She was more familiar with these CDs than he was, after all.

_Morning light hurts your eyes  
__But it's another thing  
__Nothing really matters  
__Behind the shades of blue_

He decided he liked the beat. Moments later, Sakura started singing along loudly. Sasuke had to blink at her voice: which was loud, but definitely the prettiest thing he had ever had the pleasure of hearing. His gaze fixed unwillingly on her lips as she sang along. The guitar solo was catchy, and he made another mental note to look for the band. She stopped singing briefly to grin at him. "Have you ever seen the movie 'the Lost Boys'?" She asked him, earning a nod. "The members of this band happen to be _obsessed _with that movie and this song is actually written about it." She told him proudly. "I personally didn't like the movie much." She added on thoughtfully after a moment's pause.

Sasuke scoffed. "That's only because everything vampire-related in the movie is total bullshit, and that irritates you." He pointed out smugly.

"Yeah, that's probably it." She allowed, as she effortlessly swung into the long line for the coffee shop from the day before. "Same thing as last time?" She clarified, earning a nod.. "Has anybody ever told you that you need to get a life? Because I hear they're rather cheap now. You should take a look." Sasuke's face darkened slightly at her dry teasing, but didn't respond verbally. Sakura laughed at his sulking expression, thrumming her fingers against the door anxiously. "This place needs more coffee joints. Seriously." She commented after another moment's pause. Sasuke glanced in the rearview mirror briefly, noticing the owner in the car behind them was busy staring at the burgundy Porsche and its owner intently with a slightly slack jaw, and his gaze sharpened slightly at the mirror.

Sakura either didn't notice or didn't care as she pulled up to the speaker box and gave Sasuke's order in her normal airy, lilting voice before the squawking voice rudely told her to pull up. "You going to the dance next month?" She asked airily, earning a blank glance. "Y'know, the prom? The night when a lot of babies are probably conceived due to really bad, spiked punch?" She elaborated in a belittling tone of voice with a quirked eyebrow, waving her hand in the air as she spoke. Sasuke glowered at her.

"I know what the prom is. And no, I'm not." He grumbled.

"Why not?" She was being extremely nosy, he decided needlessly.

"Dances aren't my thing." He grumbled out the response

She twisted to grin at him with a daring gleam in her dark jade eyes. "Two left feet?"

Sasuke scoffed. "Please. I happen to be an excellent dancer."

"Care to prove it?" Her tone turned challenging effortlessly, enjoying their spat.

"You asking me out, Hatake?"

"Is that always your first response to everything, Uchiha?" She mimicked his smug tone.

"You didn't answer the question." He pointed out, ignoring her retort.

"Fine. To answer your question, no, I'm not asking you out." She rolled her eyes as she skillfully inched her car forward, as the beat-up car in front of them rolled up to the open window. "I was asking because I just want to see you screw up and fall on your ass while I'm sitting safely on the sidelines, laughing _my _ass off. There. You happy?"

"Coinfident that that will happen, aren't you?" Sasuke retorted, sliding into his teasing/abusive side easily. She smirked at him in a way reminiscent of his own smirk, already pulling out her wallet from her purse as they neared the takeout window.

"You know it, baby." Of all the responses he had expected, that hadn't been one of them. He had to smirk at how she constantly caught him off guard, which was something that didn't happen to the eloquent Uchiha often. She inched the car forward again so she was perched in front of the window. Sasuke recognized the boy standing there from the day prior, along with the wondering look as he blatantly stared down at the expectant Hatake. Sakura put up with the gazing for a few moments, before she flashed him a disarming smile, "One black coffee, please?" Deciding to ignore Sakura's working of magic on the helpless, and possibly love struck, teen, Sasuke turned his attention to the music flowing from the speakers, which was heavy on the drums, and the piano was obvious in the rather slow tune. The singer's deep voice drawled out through the speakers, a thick accent present in his voice as he sang.

_Christina Death  
__Smokes cigarettes in her bed  
__Christina Death  
__Paints her lips every night blood red_

The song reminded him, for some reason, of Sakura, and he glanced furtively at the pinkette next to him at the thought. The dark-haired teenager was now handing her the cup of coffee, along with another small bag. He had to assume that it was another muffin or some other kind of freebie, and his eyes narrowed when he saw the boy shoot the girl what he probably thought was a surreptitious wink, his hand brushing Sakura's pale one in what was supposed to be an innocent touch, but in reality was anything but. He was now listening with half an ear to the lyrics pouring out of the speakers in that same slow pace, his dark eyes on the smiling pinkette.

_Christina Death  
__Drinks absinthe after giving head  
__Christina Death  
__I know you before we ever met!_

Now he really wished that he hadn't heard the second line of the song, as it reminded him of some of the thoughts that had entered his mind while in the company of Sakura. Thank god Ino wasn't with them at the moment, or she would most definitely make his life a living hell from then on for thinking dirty thoughts about her sister. Sasuke absently accepted the coffee Sakura handed him, along with the small bag, before popping open it open and pulling out a croissant, warmed and buttered to perfection. Setting the coffee into a cup holder, the Uchiha bit into the pastry before cramming the bag into his messenger bag to be thrown away at a later point, once he was in school. Only then did he take out the coffee and sip at it. The hot liquid was rather good, he admitted to himself as he swallowed eagerly. Unbeknownst to him, Sakura's eyes followed the flexing of his throat with a different kind of hunger raging in her lower abdomen..

_Christina Death  
__Lays with Dracula in her bed  
__Christina Death!  
__I know you before we ever met!_

Okay, this song reminded him a lot of Sakura, he decided immediately at the mention of Dracula. They arrived at school only a few minutes later, with Sakura's family already there, crammed into Ino's dark blue convertible. Immediately upon seeing them arrive, they climbed out and began walking over. "C'mon, loser. You can finish listening to the album after school." Sakura told him, sliding effortlessly out of her car and locking it as soon as Sasuke was out. He grunted, his mouth full of croissant. "Later, Sasuke." She touched his shoulder just a touch too long to be considered totally innocent, and his thoughts wandered to what she had thought of his kiss the day before. Judging by the fact that she hadn't attempted to beat his brains in, she had been surprised, but it hadn't been an unwelcome surprise.

"Teme!" Sasuke turned instinctively at the old nickname, to see Naruto rushing towards him. Hinata was right behind him, and when she saw him, he immediately knew that she knew about the kiss between him and Sakura, though she had decided not to tell Naruto, which would have inevitably meant that the entire school would have known by the end of the day, due to the dobe's uncontrollable blabbermouth. Naruto skidded to a stop in front of him, a loud slap seeming to echo as his backpack slammed into the blonde's broad back. Sasuke merely arched an eyebrow at his loud best friend, waiting for Naruto to calm down. To Hinata he simply nodded, earning a tentative smile in response, before she shyly ducked behind Naruto..

"Dobe." Sasuke brushed past Naruto on his way into the school building.

"Sweet ride." Naruto's tone was appreciative as he studied Sakura's car keenly before spinning around to catch up with the Uchiha. "So, what's going on with you and Sakura-chan nowadays? I feel like I haven't seen you in forever."

"You just ate lunch with us yesterday, dobe." Sasuke pointed out with a raised, dark eyebrow. Naruto shrugged nonchalantly, obviously not caring about the technicalities. "And nothing is 'going on' with Sakura and I."

"She's been taking you to and from school, and I seriously doubt you were the one who bought that coffee and croissant I saw you finish off." Naruto argued with a loud laugh, tilting his head at the hot drink in Sasuke's hand knowingly. The Uchiha glared sharply.

"The croissant was free.." Sasuke muttered defiantly, sipping at his coffee as they approached the spot where most of their friends typically hung out. Only a few were there at the moment, Gaara and his brother, along with Kiba and Shino, but more would arrive quickly. The spot was located under a staircase with plenty of room for all of them and then some. Immediately upon seeing them, Kiba sped over and brought the Uzumaki next to him in a rough headlock, effectively starting their daily tussle. Hinata looked torn, most likely between being amused at the fight, and trying to save Naruto. Apparently, she decided to do the former before she retreated to stand near the wall, close to Sasuke.

"You hound! You dog!" Kiba howled, before managing to wrestle the blonde to the ground in a half nelson. "Why didn't you tell us you got yourself a girl?"

"Quit it with the canine references, you stupid dog-lover!" Naruto bit out, managing to force his way out of the hold and slugging the brunette in the abdomen. "And I didn't tell you, because you'd try to steal her in a desperate attempt to prove you're not gay!"

"I'm _not_ gay, you sorry blonde!" Kiba sounded affronted.

Naruto stared at him blankly. "…What kind of comeback was that, you moron?!"

Kiba glowered before tackling the Uzumaki. "I'm still not gay, dammit!"

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto sounded rather disbelieving as he twisted Kiba's arm behind his back. Hinata was beginning to look increasingly worried, though she didn't try to do anything that would stop the fight. Sasuke leaned against the wall with his arms crossed in front of his broad chest, looking on with indifference.

"D-Do th-they d-do this o-o-often?" Hinata, surprisingly, broke the silence that had befallen them in her normal shy, stuttering way, looking at the taller Uchiha. Sasuke glanced down at her briefly, before inclining his head slightly as a response.

"Every time they see each other." He answered, making a concentrated effort to not come off as a hard-ass to the timid, lilac-haired girl next to him. He knew quite well just how protective Sakura was of the shy girl, and she would undoubtedly kick his ass if she found out that he was being an ass to her. "Just ignore them. They'll tire themselves out eventually." He sighed, looking away. Another loud comment of "I'm not gay, you bastard!" broke the silence, courtesy of an irate Kiba. "Hopefully." He added on.

"Twenty on Inuzuka." Gaara commented blithely as he approached them with his brother in tow. Sasuke glanced briefly at Gaara, by now accustomed to the redhead's silent approaches.

"I'll take that bet. Uzumaki will kick his ass." His older brother, Kankuro, agreed.

"Naruto shall win, with his youthful determination!" Lee bellowed loudly in a flurry of spandex and flashing white teeth as he struck his 'good-guy' pose after arriving in a whirl of green and dust. Sasuke inwardly sighed to himself.

"Inuzuka doesn't know when to give up." Gaara pointed out in his monotonous voice.

"Hey Sasuke, what about you?" The Uchiha had to grunt when Kankuro threw his arm over his shoulder, as he tackled the slightly shorter man. Sasuke eyed the scuffling pair on the floor a few feet in front of him for a few moments, as if evaluating them..

"…Thirty on the dobe." He said finally, shaking Kankuro's arm off. With the wagers set, they all crowded in a half-circle around the two fighters, who were still shouting profanities at each other, which were bad enough to make even Sasuke lift an eyebrow in mild shock. Naruto did indeed seem to be winning, though he was now sporting a vivid black eye and one of his arms was red from where Kiba had given him an Indian Rope Burn.

"Hey, Sasu-chan. What are you doing?" The very familiar lyrical voice broke into their thoughts, and Sasuke's position subconsciously shifted to accommodate her into their half circle. Sakura shrugged into the open position, her green eyes watching the fight curiously. "So here's where you ran off to, huh, Hinata-chan?" Sakura grinned at her younger 'sister', earning a mildly grateful smile. The rosette studied the fight. "Do I want to know what happened here?" She asked, sounding vaguely amused.

"They do this every day, Sakura-san." Gaara answered her in his gravelly voice, glancing at her briefly out of the corner of his eye before looking back at the fight intently.

"Sometimes multiple times a day." Kankuro chimed in, grinning.

"Basically, whenever they see each other." The older brother grinned. Sakura smiled at the two of them. Hinata remained silent, her dark white eyes immediately noticing the way that Sasuke's stiff posture seemed to have relaxed and intuitively adjusted to Sakura's presence in a more possessive stance. Fighting back a smile, the shy girl turned back to the squabble, which seemed to be settling down. With one final shove, Naruto stood up, victorious. His lower lip was split, and his black eye was even more vivid than it had been only a few minutes before, almost swollen shut. Nevertheless, he stuck his tongue out at the Inuzuka, who was lying on the ground, groaning in pain as he nursed a blow to the back of his head.

"Oh, yeah! Take that, you effing loser!" The loud blonde crowed, grinning broadly. "I win!"

"One of these days, Uzumaki." Kiba's mumble was barely audible, and Naruto just snorted disdainfully in response. Hinata walked over to the Uzumaki and herded him out of the group to stand in the little group she, Sasuke, and Sakura had formed. Sasuke, Kankuro, and Lee were already gathering their winnings, making sure to rub it in the now sullen Gaara's face the entire time.

"Maybe next time, Gaara-san." Sakura told him with a slight smile at Sasuke's side. The tall redhead studied her for a moment before nodding slowly and walking off in the direction of the library. Sakura chuckled, before noticing Sasuke was staring intently at her. "What?"

Sasuke merely shook his head. "Nothing." Just then the bell rang, and they all had to disappear before one of the teachers saw them and the bruises decorating two of their friends. She took Sasuke's hand and began tugging him in the direction of their first class. "C'mon, twinkle toes. Later Hinata-chan, Naruto!" She twisted briefly to wave at the couple before turning around to avoid running into Sasuke's back, as he was now leading her, instead of the other way around.

* * *

"You feel like going to my place?" Sakura asked him after school, after turning down the music. She had decided, against his will, that she was going to begin his musical therapy, and had begun to tell him every artist to every song that he had ever heard. He'd half-expected her to lend him her iPhone, but she didn't.

He lifted an eyebrow at her. "Why?" She shrugged, already moving into the appropriate lane for the way to her house, he couldn't help but notice.

"Why not? I enjoy hanging out with you, and that's about it. And before you ask, no, I'm not asking you out." She added on the last part with mild irritation present in her voice, and he had to smirk in response. He had to admit that ruffling her feathers made her seem all the more pretty to him. He finally nodded, and was rewarded by a beaming Sakura as she wordlessly flicked up the volume dial on her radio. True to her word, she did enjoy My Chemical Romance a great deal, as the rough screams echoing from the speakers were indeed the voice of Gerard Way.

_Pull the plug  
__Would I like to learn your name?  
__We're holding on  
__I hope you do the same  
__Aw sugar!_

Sakura had already informed him that the song was titled "The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You", and after he had asked, told him the album title so he could find it at a later point in time. The band was really growing on him, especially after hearing Sakura begin to belt out the lyrics in almost perfect harmony along with the singer. He had briefly considered asking her to do the covers of all the songs, but had dismissed the thought as too girly. "They gave us two shots to the back of the head and we're all dead now!" Sakura sang along, as she pulled into the rather long driveway that led up to her house. Ino and the rest of her family had already arrived, and were currently getting out of the car. Sai was still there, and was currently perched on the railing of the wraparound porch of Sakura's house, sketching something into a sketchbook of his.

He lifted his head as Sakura approached and smiled blankly at her. "There you are, Hag." He said as a way of greeting, and Sasuke found himself taking a slight dislike to the black-haired vampire. "And you brought Emo-boy with you." Sai added on, his burgundy eyes landing blandly on the stiffened Uchiha. Sakura merely rolled her eyes and stepped onto the porch.

"Sai, shut up." She ordered briskly.

Sai ignored her rude rebuttal. "Oh, Hag. I took a look at some of the paintings in your art room." She paused with her hand on the doorknob and shifted to look at the pale artist expectantly. "They're looking better," at this Sakura beamed happily, "but they still are disgusting." He finished, in that same blank tone of voice of his, before returning to his sketching. Sakura looked like she was seriously tempted to throttle the oblivious Sai, but with a great effort, managed to open the door and enter. Sasuke saw what she had meant by Sai's bland, blunt behavior and how it took someone with a thick hide to be able to stand him for extended periods of time, as he followed the irate pinkette in.

"Ah, Ms. Beautiful." Sai smiled vacantly at the longhaired blonde who approached him. Ino let out a dainty laugh, pressing her arm next to his as she leaned over his arm to see what he was painting.

"Sai, that's so pretty!" She gushed with a surreptitious look at her mate, who was currently looking faintly irritated. With another fake smile, Sai thanked her before returning to his sketching. Shikamaru grasped Ino's arm as he brushed past her and dragged her into the house and away from the oblivious artist.

"Come on, you troublesome woman." The spiky-haired brunette muttered to his mate, who merely smiled in triumph.

"Alright, Shika-kun. I'll see you later, Sai!" She turned to call back to the artist briefly, and didn't receive a response as the rest of the Hatake family followed her in one by one. Sakura and Sasuke had already claimed the couch for themselves, as Sakura had inevitably decided to rest her head on Sasuke's lap (again, without his permission) and then sprawled her feet out at the opposite end. Sasuke either didn't mind or didn't care, as he didn't shove her off, but basically ignored her, as he was currently in a discussion with Kakashi.

"Did you ever use that present I lent you?" The silver-haired man asked eagerly, reminding Sasuke of the book, and what had happened to said perverted book.

"I wound up lighting it on fire." The Uchiha answered bluntly, refusing to think of how his cheeks had been a surprisingly bright red while doing so. He had indeed set the perverted book ablaze in his fireplace after reading the first paragraph and becoming mortified by the graphic text. Kakashi looked appropriately affronted, as if Sasuke had just said something involving his mother.

"How dare you! I spent my hard-earned money on that!" The masked man gasped dramatically. Sasuke rolled his eyes, unimpressed. He realized dimly that his fingers were beginning to massage her scalp though he didn't remove the digits from her short hair.

"More like _Sakura's_ hard-earned money," The Uchiha pointed out dryly, earning an uncaring shrug in response.

"Good point." Kakashi allowed logically, his one visible eye curving upwards as he smiled dryly. Sakura cracked open an eye, wondering if Sasuke consciously knew that he was running his calloused fingers through her hair in slow, methodical strokes. She brushed off the idea, before glaring halfheartedly at her father figure.

"Kakashi, you do know I'm right here, don't you?"

He smiled affectionately down at her. "Why hello, Sakura. When did you get there?" She rolled her eyes at his mildly sarcastic greeting, before subconsciously sighing as Sasuke's deft fingers began massaging her scalp lightly. She relaxed into the surprisingly gentle response. The gentle touch reminded her of the kiss from a few days prior, and how his firm lips had been achingly gentle with her, as if she would break. Her lips had tingled all the way back home from the contact, and it had been enough to make Ino pretend to start gagging as Sakura's mind had only been able to think of the kiss.. She muffled the giggle that welled in her throat at the thought before she sat up, as Sai drifted back in on silent feet, apparently having finished his sketching.

He eyed the two of them knowingly. "Having fun, Hag?" He asked blandly, as he drifted past her on his way to the staircase. Sakura grabbed a pillow off of the couch and used it as its name depicted, but hurling it at the artist in a motion that was too fast for Sasuke's eyes to track. He was surprised to hear a dull thump as the pillow hit Sai's back harmlessly before falling to the floor, as Sakura stuck her tongue out at him stubbornly.

"Go to hell, Sai."

"Already been there, Hag. Lucifer says that he wants you home for the next family reunion." The male vampire retorted almost immediately, his voice still bland and flat, glancing at her over his shoulder with an almost invisible touch of humor to the wine-red depths. Sakura was startled into a laugh, though the artist had just insinuated she was related to the devil. Sasuke was surprised to note that the brash rosette didn't actually have a snarky response, as she almost always did, at least with him. The artist disappeared up the staircase, and Sakura quickly put her head back on Sasuke's lap after shooing his hands away from said spot. His fingers slid back into her hair slowly.

"Mind if I ask what you're doing?" The Uchiha lifted a dark eyebrow as he spoke. Sakura just shrugged, snuggling into his thighs as she twisted around. He stiffened noticeably, though she didn't seem to care at all as she twisted around slightly to study his face.

"You make a nice pillow. That's all." She answered flippantly. Ino returned from the kitchen, and batted playfully at her best friends legs to get her to move them, before sitting down in the now-vacant space. Almost immediately, Sakura's small feet wound up on the blonde's lap. Ino rolled her eyes but flicked on the TV and found a station that she didn't mind, apparently having decided to ignore her obnoxious best friend.

Sasuke wound up staying with the Hatakes for well into the rest of the night again, and was there to see Sai off, and Sakura volunteered to give him a ride home. "Just no kisses this time around, alright?" She muttered to him after she had closed the door. His face heated slightly, though he grunted and nodded in response. "Good. C'mon, pretty boy." He followed her, his mind crisply detailing Sai's threats of mutilation if he were to hurt the small, pink-haired girl in front of him.

"_Emo boy."_

_It took Sasuke a minute to realize that he was the 'Emo Boy' being referred to, and he turned around to meet the bland red eyes of Sai. "I have a name, you know." The Uchiha told him in mild agitation. _

_Sai smiled another fake smile at him. "Nicknames are a good way to establish trust, and a friendship with another person." He recited loyally, and Sasuke stared at him uncomprehendingly for a long moment before shaking his head to ignore the emotionally stunted vampire next to him. "Emo-boy, there was another reason that I started this conversation." Sai broke in, sounding unusually stern for once. _

"_Then what is it?" Sasuke snapped in irritation, turning to glare at Sai. The glare did absolutely nothing, as the socially inept artist promptly ignored it. Sai was silent for several long seconds, probably gathering his thoughts before he glanced down at the shorter mortal out of the corner of his eye. _

"_Sakura is one of my dearest friends. And possibly the only one who can stand me for as long as she has." The painter started. "She has a bad habit of pretending things are fine when they're not, and is rather skilled at hiding her emotions. I can tell that she's become rather fond of you, perhaps even more than I originally thought was possible, and I can also tell that you're rather fond of her as well, even though you'd never admit it. I'm not going to threaten you into leaving her alone, as I know that would do her more harm than good, but keep in mind that if you ever hurt her, intentionally or not, I will see to it that nobody will ever find your disgusting corpse."_

"-Hoo! Sasuke! You in there?" Sakura was waving her hand in front of his face, and he was startled out of his thoughts. She frowned at him slightly. "I really should focus more on your spacing out than your musical taste, huh? Oh well." She shrugged, before twisting up the volume dial once more. Sasuke automatically flinched at the heavy music that screamed through the speakers, though adjusted to the catchy beat quickly.

_I can't wait for you to shut me up  
And make me hip like bad ass  
I can't wait for you to shut me up  
Shut it up_

Sakura sang along loudly, and Sasuke glanced at the speedometer curiously. It was inching towards one hundred slowly but surely, and while he briefly debated on telling her to slow down, he decided against it in the end. Instead, he leaned back into his seat, tilted his head back, and closed his eyes against the wind ruffling his spiky hair in a surprisingly comforting manner. He dozed off, and was woken up by a gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking him firmly. He started awake to find Sakura looking at him with blatant amusement written on her face. "Comfy, isn't it?" She grinned. "Anyways, we're at your house." She tilted a thumb at his dark home to emphasize her point. He nodded slowly, still groggy from his would-be nap, and reached down to pick up his backpack before getting out.

"What, no kiss this time?" She teased with a laugh. Sasuke sighed long-sufferingly, looking faintly exasperated. "Right, right. Sorry. Hey, do you feel up to doing something this weekend?"

Smirking, he opened his mouth to ask her something, but she cut him off with an exaggerated eye roll. "Yes, you buffoon. This time I am indeed asking you out." Silent at the fact that she was actually asking him out this time, he merely nodded stupidly. "Great. I'll pick you up this Saturday at about three. It'll probably be just a movie or something, but you'll be with me so it should be fun." She laughed, before waving her hand in a farewell gesture before backing out of his driveway smoothly and easily vanishing from sight. He shook his head as he tromped inside loudly.

_How pathetic is it that the girl is picking up the boy for the date? _He wondered sardonically to himself, before unlocking his door and entering with his mind on his bed.

* * *

End of Chapter nine.

I'm already working on page five of chapter ten, I'm hoping it'll be out by this Friday or so.

And yes, Sai is now gone. But he will be back later, I swear it! I wanted to make him last longer this time around, but it wouldn't have worked. Damn.

Oh, and all of the songs on here, except maybe the last one, I wrote the lyrics down while I was listening to them as I didn't have the lyrics on me at the moment, so if its wrong, just let me know. And I think I said the title for every song in here, but if I missed one and you want it, feel free to message me and I'll give it to you. They're all excellent bands. And yes, the thing with 'the Lost Boys' is true.

Oh, and yeah, I know I didn't do thta much detail on the kiss, but I don't think I'm very good at it. lol.

Nine reviews!? Oh hell yes! This totally just made my day.

By the way, does anybody else read the Eragon series? I was finally able to get into it. I tried for like a year and a half, and it just never happened. But it finally worked! Boo yah! And I hate the movie.

Reviewer Replies:

_NamineInWonderland: _You love my story! Awww, thank you! I don't rock that hard. I'm actually quite a bit of a nerd. I enjoy spending time with my pets, and hanging out in Dragon's Lair or Barnes 'n' Noble. To start But here is your requested update. I hope you like it.

_IDontNeedToReply:_ Er, yeah. Long chapter, I know. It's funny, because I didn't even mean for it to be very long. It just kinda...happened. Hah hah. Er...the Numa NuUma song? Never heard of it. Dude, I know right? I'm so used to typing 'Sakura's green eyes' that I actually have to go back and edit it, lol. Because Sasuke is an oblivious fool, that's why. Er, I think so. I'm not quite sure, even if no panthers exist in the US, they do in this story. lol. You obviously like the word 'enamored' don't you? lol. And yeah, Tenten is the freaking shit. I can totally see her stashing a kitchen knife so she can steal it or something. Who sounds beautiful? Sakura? Well, yeah, no duh. She IS. Hah hah. Sasuke is a cocky bastard isn't he? lol. And Sakura is getting there, herself. Snarky wench, isn't she? How is Sakura a guy? I actually think I made her pretty feminine, which is something, because I'm like...not. Ignore the fact I'm wearing a skirt at this very moment. lol. Yeah, Ike wound up not hitting us after all, thankfully. It barely even rained! What. The. Hell. I like making Sasu-chan jealous. It's fun. lol. Well, yeah he did. He's trying to impress her, even if he doesn't seem to realize the coffee/muffin isn't for her. lol. Naruto's always adorable! And yeah, I get what you mean. Pervy comments make my day. This chapter has a lot of them as well. I think. I might be getting it confused with ten. Ha ha. Ah, yes, I made Sasuke ticklish. but sadly, the idea wasn't mine. I actually got it from 'the Eccentric Files' written by Ren and Missa. It's hysterical. Ah, on the Kiba being gay, I'm remaining mum. I've always thought he was a bit fruity, but in this story, I'm considering making him Bi while leaning towards those of the same gender a bit more. lol. Oh wait, damn. That's not being mum. Damn. Hah hah. Is it? Never heard it before. I'll look for it later.

_KurenaiBara-chan_: Er, here's your chapter! I hope you like it! YOU LOVE MY STORY TOO!? Oh hell yes! Your going on my awesomness wall, along with my beta and NamineInWonderland. Hah hah.

_Kingdom-Hearts-Angel_: Yes, I updated and I shall continue to do so! Bwuhaha!

_I Have An Alter Ego_: You think Bella and Nessie are aliens? ...Wow. That's one I don't think I've heard before. But I get what you mean. Dude, I know, right? I had totally been expecting the smex too, and then when it didn't happen, I was like 'what the HELL was that!' Ngh. You got to go to the midnight release? You lucky bitch. My mom allowed me to reserve my copy several months in advance, and then a couple days before it came out when I reminded her, she told me I couldn't go. I had to wait four more days to buy the stupid thing. I was so pissed. And then kinda disappointed because of all the hype concerning the book. Hah hah. I'm looking forward to Midnight Sun, though. More descriptive than me? Wow, that made me feel better. Hah hah. And yes, Sai has come and gone. lol.

_Affectionate_: Thanks! I'm glad to see you've been patient. I made them kiss, and next chapter will be the date, followed by the beginning of the plot. Bwuhahaha.

_ArjunaAnja_: Yeah, Sai's a human-drinker. I wanted to make him a 'vegetarian' but it didn't seem to work for him. Hah hah. Ick. I hate labs. I always get the boring ones. Ah, procrastination. I am very familiar with that. Hah hah.

_ladyDV011_: Updation had occured. Hope you like it!

CelestialMaiden of Silence: Yay another Sai fan! Whoot! And yes, I know I am evil but I hope I made it up to you. ;) He had to leave obviously, but he will be back so fear not dear maiden! (You have no idea how long I've wanted to use that on you. lol.) You actually read the first Author's Note. Color me impressed. Hah hah.

Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed!

One last thing: I'm planning on the lemon possibly being in eleven. I'll give fair warning in Ten as well, but make sure that you favorite, alert whatever because I will be raising the rating when/if it happens to be in Eleven. It won't be too graphic or anything, I hope.


	10. Lupus

I hate this chapter. I just want you to know that.

I had a totally different ending in mind, but that would have lead into angry sex, which just isn't fun. (Much.)

Do you guys realize how long I've bene trying to get this stupid chapter up? Like five days. It's ridiculous.

So, um, yeah. Review?

* * *

In Sakura's typical fashion, the rosette didn't even bother coming to the door to pick him up that following Saturday, instead

In Sakura's typical fashion, the rosette didn't even bother coming to the door to pick him up that following Saturday, instead deciding to lie on the horn until Sasuke opened the door in irritation. Rather than being seated in her Porsche, Sakura was perched daintily on the hood of her car with her weight resting on the heel of her palms, which were extended behind her. He had to wonder faintly to himself if she realized that she was striking a pose most commonly found on models on the covers of car magazines. She lifted a hand in greeting, "It took you long enough; I thought I was actually going to have to go up to the door to retrieve you." She slid off of her car in a graceful motion, accidentally flashing Sasuke with a healthy dose of her slender thighs as she did so.

Somehow managing not to stare, he climbed into her car, and she followed him shortly. "You know that many people consider that the polite thing to do?" He pointed out calmly, as Sakura paused in twisting the key to look at him with a lifted eyebrow.

"Yes, but I think we've decided that I'm not the most polite person you know." She retorted playfully, before the car turned on with a quiet purr and loud music screeched through her stereos. Sasuke unknowingly flinched at the unexpected sound and Sakura had to laugh as she turned down the volume in a swift movement. "Pansy." She twisted around deftly as she pulled out of his driveway.

_It's three AM  
She won't put out_  
_Let's go make out with her friends_  
_Make out with her friends' friends_

"Who the hell is this?" He asked, slightly stunned at the crude lyrics. Sakura shrugged, unabashed, as she whirled the car around in a rather flamboyant manner that would have made a NASCAR driver envious.

"Mindless Self Indulgence. You've heard them before, though. Get used to it. I just got this album and we'll be listening to them the entire time." She laughed, now gaining speed as she pressed insistently on the gas pedal.

"Do I get a say in the music we listen to?" He asked without any conviction.

"No. Your musical taste sucks." She glanced in the mirror briefly, her tone matter of fact.

"How the hell would you know that?" He asked indignantly. "I don't think we've ever actually delved into my musical taste. Ever since day one, we've been listening to your music."

"I asked around. Now shut up." Sakura replied flippantly before switching the song to number six. The beat was catchy, though the lyrics were rather disturbing, Sasuke couldn't help but note as he reclined comfortably back into his seat. Sakura cast his outfit a glance out of the corner of her eye before he could notice, liking what she saw. Slightly faded jeans complimented the plain black t-shirt that clung to his broad shoulder, and accentuated his pale skin nicely. His arms were currently crossed in front of his chest, straining the fabric of his shirt slightly as his dark eyes stared out the window with intent. His messy blue-black hair was gelled up into its typical spikes at the back of his head, and seemed slightly more unruly than normal with several strands falling in front of his forehead and on the sides of his face.

As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew that there was a reason as to why he had such a large fangirl club at school, and for a moment she was half-tempted to join, just to see the look on his face.

_I wanna make some babies_  
_I wanna get it on_  
_I wanna make ya horny_  
_But I can't get it up!_  
_I wanna make some money_  
_But I don't want no job_

"What are the chances that what he's singing about actually happened?" Sasuke commented after the chorus, earning a startled laugh from Sakura.

"I don't know, really. It'd be interesting to find out, though." She laughed. Sasuke turned to stare at her for several long moments in his version of complete shock. "What?"

"You want to find out if someone was unable to perform?" He clarified skeptically.

"Well, when you put it that way…" She trailed off with another laugh, still not appearing abashed by any stretch of the imagination. The wind whistled through her hair softly.

"By the way, where are we going?" Sasuke changed the topic abruptly as he stared out the window after noticing that they weren't heading towards the movie theatre as he had originally expected. Sakura had mentioned after she had first asked him out that they would probably wind up seeing a movie on the date, but now they weren't heading for the theatre. Sakura checked her side mirrors as she switched lanes on the scarcely populated street. He was surprised by the lack of cars, but shrugged it off as luck

"I saw on the news that it would probably wind up being sunny today, and if it does, then I obviously wouldn't be able to leave the movie theatre or anything. Instead, we're heading to a favorite spot of mine just outside the city limits. I don't think anybody else knows of it, and it's very secluded. Now that I think about it, I probably should've asked you to bring your swimsuit. Oh well." She shrugged. Sasuke scanned her outfit consisting of dark blue jean shorts and a dark, almost silver, shirt that clung to her curves. A black jacket covered her arms, the same jacket he had seen on various other occasions. Sakura seemed to like the jacket a lot. He did too, but only because it fit her snugly.

"Do you have your swimsuit with you?" He asked, not seeing any indication that she had it on her at the moment. With the amount of gawking he had secretly been doing, he would have been surprised if he had missed an indication of a swimsuit strap. With a slight smirk on, Sakura let go of the steering wheel with one hand and pushed aside her jacket before plucking out a black strap that was too thick to be a bra strap.. He briskly nodded once, and settled back down into his seat comfortably, liking the next song slightly more than the previous one, due to the less crude lyrics and upbeat sound. He could barely hear Sakura humming along next to him, her voice cheery, and it… pleased him to realize that she obviously did enjoy spending time with him, when so many people didn't.

_Just call me "Mr. Modest"  
I got it and I flaunt it  
You can applaud if you wanna (nahnahnahnah)  
(Ba-ba-ba-ba-bap)  
Cock-blockin' non-stoppin'  
When this ass is a-rockin'  
Do not come a-knockin' (nahnahnahnah)_

Okay, he took back what he said about the song being less crude.

"Ba-ba-ba-ba-bap!" Sakura belted out suddenly, in perfect pitch with the song as she turned to grin at the Uchiha sitting next to her. Hiding his amusement behind his normal arrogant facade, Sasuke merely lifted a dark eyebrow at her in a condescending manner.

"Watch the road." He ordered briefly, impatient. She rolled her eyes but did as he bid.

"You're too paranoid, Sasuke. You're traveling with a _vampire_. I have, like, the best reflexes you've ever seen. We won't get pulled over, or flip, or anything." She laughed, her carefree tone still present in her bell-like voice. And not those creepy church bells either.

"Hn." He watched as her slender index finger idly flicked the song back to the previous chorus, before singing along again. She proceeded to do this several more times, and when he stared pointedly at her, she merely shrugged and grinned unabashedly at him.

"I like this part, so sue me." She retorted defensively. "Hey, did I ever tell that I think this part fits you?" She asked brightly, changing the topic fluidly. For once at a complete loss for words, Sasuke could only stare at her blankly for a moment before shaking his head.

"Which part, the 'modest' part or the," his expression warped slightly, "'cock-blockin', non-stoppin' bit?" She seemed surprised that the swear word had slipped out of his lips so easily, as she knew that Sasuke didn't curse, though the sarcasm wasn't new, but then recovered, before grinning at him like he was a particularly dense, several generations inbred, hick. He found himself mildly insulted, though she hadn't even said anything yet.

"No, you moron. Well, kinda. What I was actually referring to was, 'Just call me Mr. Modest; I got it and I flaunt it.'" Her voice altered to an almost perfect version of the singer's voice as she sang the lyrics in a slightly softer tone. Sasuke squinted at her, unsure if she was secretly attempting to batter at his already-bruised ego, or if she was being completely serious. The teasing glitter to her topaz eyes told him the former, while the grin on her face, which was one he was unfamiliar with, made him lean toward the latter. The two stared at each other for several long moments before, with a sigh, Sakura looked away, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel absently.

"Are you implying that I'm meek and modest?" Sasuke clarified skeptically. She flashed him an exasperated look before she shook her (endearing) spiky head.

"Y'know, for a so-called 'prodigy', you're rather dense." She snapped, finally sounding rather irritated, as her golden eyes flashed at him. Feeling satisfied, the Uchiha leaned back into his seat and observed her with a definite sense of smugness radiating off of him. He would never tell anyone this, (and he could only hope Ino decided not to as well), but he greatly enjoyed infuriating the tiny woman next to him, and would purposefully poke at her until she exploded into a flurry of pale pink hair, a shouting voice, and golden (though sometimes green) eyes before him. It made her all the more endearing to him. "Can I go ahead and assume that you were able to gather that the lyrics were contradictory and definitely not with irony?" He nodded, his pompous expression tilting her closer to going over the edge. "Well, I'm saying that the lyrics are actually rather arrogant. There. I hope I dumbed it down enough for you."

Sasuke frowned slightly. He hadn't meant to make her _this_ irritated. Sakura truly was unpredictable. Maybe that was what made her so appealing to him.

"Getting rather angry, aren't you?"

She shot golden sparks at him as she spun around indignantly. He barely felt it when the car was beginning to pick up speed, but a glance at the speedometer told him that it was definitely rising. "No. I've just never had any patience for idiots." She snapped before looking back at the road. Now slightly stinging from her acidic comment, the two collapsed into a now very awkward silence. Several minutes passed, and with his eyes firmly locked on the window and the scenery outside it, Sasuke allowed his fingers to drift over to the volume dial, and turned the music back up to its previous volume, which Sakura had turned down in her tongue-lashing.

He felt Sakura's eyes on him, and after glancing at her discreetly through his bangs, he saw her smiling gratefully before turning back to the road and beginning to sing. They continued like this until Sakura abruptly pulled into a dense, scoped-out spot that obviously used to be utilized as a parking spot. "C'mon, loser. We're here." She announced, swiftly unbuckling herself and sliding out the door of her car fluidly. Sasuke followed her in a noticeably less graceful motion before pursuing her through the densely overgrown area. True enough, the sun was beginning to peek through the clouds, occasionally bathing Sakura's sparkling form in bright sunlight before fading away.

Next to Sakura's silent footsteps, Sasuke felt like a giant as he practically stomped through the foliage before walking through a patch that Sakura cleared out of his way, and paused.. In front of them was a bubbling spring that fed into a small stream that probably wouldn't go any higher than his waist, and maybe closer to Sakura's chest. "I found this place a while back when I was looking for a snack to hold me over. It's not very big, but suck it up." She stepped lightly onto a relatively flat area before slipping out of her flip-flops and leaving them there, before sliding off her jacket. Sasuke watched her strip with an unusual tightening in his lower abdomen, but when she shot him a questioning look at his blatant staring, he looked away and pulled off his shirt brusquely before discarding it haphazardly on the ground.

Now Sakura was the one staring, as she watched lean muscles ripple under his pale skin hungrily. He wasn't extraordinarily muscular like a body builder, but there was still enough muscle definition to make her mouth water with venom before she snapped out of it. "Pants too." She told him, already pulling the dark silver shirt over her head, revealing her black tankini-styled top underneath it. Sasuke paused briefly to examine the swimsuit top before deciding that while it didn't reveal nearly as much skin as he had hoped for, it stuck to her figure subtly, and was striking against her pale skin.

Her shorts went next, which she promptly placed next to her discarded shirt neatly. It was a skirt-like bottom, though it was still ridiculously short, and that suited him just fine. After dumping his jeans in a messy pile on top of his shirt, he followed her to the water in nothing but his boxers. Sakura flashed his underwear a quick glance before flicking up to his own eyes knowingly. "I knew you were a boxers man." She told him as she climbed into the spring carefully. "It's mossy, so watch your step." She continued, before sliding all the way in and promptly beginning to drift towards the center where it was deeper. He heeded her advice and still almost slipped on a particularly mossy rock as he followed her to the middle, shivering at the iciness. As he had expected, the pool went up to his navel, while it barely brushed the bottom of Sakura's breasts.

Sakura had inevitably caught his almost-slip, and smiled wryly at him. "Told you, pretty boy." She laughed before promptly dunking under the water. Knowing that she didn't have to breathe, the Uchiha settled on finding a rock to perch on while he waited for his vampire to re-surface. She did so minutes later, with a slightly disheartened expression on. "I was hoping to freak you out with that," She told him matter-of-factly before wading over, "Scoot over." He did so grudgingly, and she sat down next to him. "I know it's not much, but its still fun with friends."

"We're friends?" Sasuke asked her cryptically. She blinked at him, looking charmingly confused.

"I figured. I seriously doubt we're enemies." She answered him hesitantly, obviously still trying to figure out where he was going with this.

"I don't make it a habit to kiss 'friends', Sakura." He pointed out quietly, looking at her intently. She just stared at him uncomprehendingly for several long moments before it dawned on her, and her face brightened noticeably.

"I should seriously hope not, Sasu-chan. Though that would explain why Naruto's so fixated on you whenever Hinata's not around. But it'd be wrong." She teased him gently, and his face darkened slightly at the slight insinuation. "No matter how attractive it would be." She allowed after a moment.

Shoving away the feeling of revulsion at the thought of Sakura thinking that he and Naruto would be attractive as gay together, Sasuke merely fixed her with a look that spoke volumes of exasperation and was rather pointed. "Sasuke, are you asking me to be your girlfriend?"

"…I guess. Feel free to say no, though." He admitted grudgingly, now avoiding her excited gaze in mild embarrassment. The pink-haired woman next to him let out a tinkling laugh that made him jump slightly in surprise.. "This is not funny." He scowled lightly at her, and she quelled her laughter softly, though a wide grin still remained present as she looked up at him with large, mirth-filled eyes.

"Sure, Sasuke. But that means no more late-night visits to oh-what's-her-name."

"Karin."

"Right. That one. Or any other ones, for that matter."

Sasuke now looked like he was regretting his decision, and Sakura pressed closer to him, giving him a birds-eye view down her swimsuit top. "Too late, Sasuke. Can't take it back..." She grinned, evidently showing that she knew him better than he had originally thought. "_But_. You know what this means, don't you?" He looked at her blankly and remained silent. "You have to _touch_ me, you have to _kiss_ me, you have to fuuuu-" She was suddenly cut off by the sensation of Sasuke's firm lips against hers, effectively silencing her sing-songing.

She took much less time to recover this time around and she quickly hastened to drag Sasuke to her, crushing her rock hard lips against his softer ones eagerly. This time, Sasuke dared to skim his tongue along her bottom lip gently in a silent request for permission, and she quickly gave it to him before he could be scared off, as she opened her mouth to his wet, fleshy appendage obligingly.. Their position on the rock inevitably twisted so she wound up with her back against the wall of the hot spring, and him between her thighs snugly, as they continued to fight for dominance in their fierce lip lock.

Finally, they broke apart due to Sasuke's now-overwhelming urge to breathe (damn that nasty oxygenate habit of his!) "Now that's two on you." Sakura commented blithely, not even huffing for air like the Uchiha in front of her. Regaining some of his dignity, the black-haired teenager shot her a unique look of questioning and exasperation. Sakura was hardly moved, used to his pissy behavior by now.

"What?" He finally asked impatiently. She flashed him a grin cheekily.

"Kisses. You've started two kisses, and I haven't started one." She explained, before practically tackling him in a subtle, careful movement and crashing her lips to his briefly before getting back up and allowing him to regain his precarious footing on the slippery rock as he stared at her in disbelief. "Make that one." She commented airily, returning to her perch on the rock. Recovering himself well, Sasuke decided to stake out another seat for himself, and they collapsed back into a comfortable silence, though the grin on Sakura's face made him rather wary as she continued to practically gawk at him. He was polite enough to ignore this fact, though he didn't bother hiding the smirk that appeared on his face at the thought.

* * *

"Kakashi."

The silver-haired man looked up from his perverted book, seeing his long-haired 'son' standing in front of him, his normally impassive expression seeming anxious, and with a barely noticeable hint of worry thrown in. "Neji," The older vampire greeted casually, setting aside his precious Icha Icha in turn for finding out what had the stolid man looking so apprehensive. "What're you doing back so soon?" He asked out of curiosity, as Neji and Tenten had disappeared into town in the hopes of finding out about Sasuke's history. Evidently, Sasuke's icy retort about his deceased family had peaked Neji's curiosity. Kakashi had had an inkling feeling that Neji had just wanted to find some dirt on the Uchiha, as he was still not very happy with the relationship between his younger sister and the human. Neji ignored the question, as he all but shoved a small stack of papers under the masked man's nose.

Kakashi blinked, removing the slightly crumpled papers from underneath his nose and from Neji's taut grasp gingerly. After sorting the papers and smoothing them out, the masked vampire started to skim the papers, his one almost droopy eye widening fractionally at the contents written on the papers. "Are you sure this is accurate?"

Neji nodded jerkily. "Yes. The last page is one of the many photographs taken of the scene. I hacked into the confidential files of the police website. The one before that is the police description given."

"Sakura should know about this." Tenten suddenly appeared at her mate's side, looking as anxious as Neji must have been feeling. The petite brunette shook her head at the statement.

"We can't. She had her date with Sasuke today, and she left about an hour ago. She won't be back for several more hours at least." The buns-wearing woman told him, sounding rather resigned at the fact. "And I don't want to know what she'll do with us if we decide to disturb her."

Kakashi smiled slightly. "She is rather fond of that boy, isn't she?" The question was rhetorical, and nobody bothered to respond. Ino drifted in with Shikamaru right behind her, looking mildly interested. Wordlessly, Kakashi handed her the papers, though in a slightly less brusque manner than Neji had. Her golden eyes scanned the contents briefly, widening drastically as she read, before passing it to her mate, who also read it, though he had schooled his expression into something neutral. Anko and Hinata wandered in at the commotion going on in the living room. One by one, they also read the papers, before handing them back to Neji, who promptly crumpled them into a ball with a tight fist.

"Neji, don't do that." Anko chided him almost immediately, sounding faintly exasperated. "We'll need that to prove it to Sakura." Neji merely blinked, though he dutifully straightened out the rather crumpled papers before placing them on a nearby table, lest he be tempted to destroy them again before his adopted sister got back.

"Wh-Who sh-sh-should t-t-tell S-Sakura?" Hinata asked faintly in her quavering voice, looking very worried and concerned for her oldest sister. The rest of the Hatake family traded a glance.

"Yes," Anko stated with a slightly sardonic twist to her lips, "Who wants to tell Sakura that her new boyfriend's family might have been killed by a fledgling?"

* * *

Back at the spring, Sasuke sneezed in a rather ungraceful motion. "Bless you." Sakura told him flippantly from the side of the pool where she was relaxing. Sasuke merely sniffled, wondering if he was being talked about somewhere before brushing off the thought airily. After he had adjusted to the coldness of the spring, he had really become quite comfortable, as the bubbling water had helped ease his tense shoulders. Sakura suddenly got out of the water, and Sasuke idly watched a drop of water trail its way down the line of her jaw and neck, before dipping teasingly into her cleavage and then getting absorbed by the fabric of her swimsuit top. Her sparkling skin now glistened even more in the stray rays of sunlight that had managed to break through the thick foliage above them.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, mildly intrigued despite himself.

"Hang on. I wanna get something from my car." She told him, though he barely heard her due to the fact that he was currently gawking at her swaying hips like a buffoon. Luckily, she either didn't notice or didn't care, and as soon as she had disappeared in the thick wall of plants that had surrounded them, Sasuke dunked under the water and thanked God that he was currently sitting in a pool of rather cold water, and that Sakura wouldn't notice the arousal flooding his bloodstream and his body's physical response to it. Sakura returned minutes later with a bright-colored blow-up ball in hand.. Sasuke stared as she tossed it carelessly into the water.

"You have got to be kidding me." He said simply in disbelief, continuing to gaze at the sphere while Sakura climbed into the spring silently next to him. She reached for the ball before heading towards the opposite side of the spring before batting it at him childishly.

"Nope. Now bat it back, you pansy." She laughed. Still staring at her, Sasuke merely picked it up and swung it back at her with a raised eyebrow. Taking no offense, the rosette hurried to bat it back like they were playing water volleyball. Sasuke merely avoided the light ball, and when Sakura voiced her complaints loudly, he grudgingly sent it back to her, feeling rather immature as he did so.

"This is an infantile game." He commented under his breath, though Sakura still had no problem hearing him. She stuck her tongue out at him in silent response, before flinging it back, aiming directly for his pretty-boy face. Due to his precarious position on the rock, he had no where else to go but down, and he slunk under the water with more speed than she had thought possible for a human, successfully avoiding being hit in the face. Then Sakura proceeded to watch as a broad hand extended from the water and pushed the ball back at her without the sphere actually leaving the surface of the water. Needless to say, it didn't go very far and Sakura hastened to retrieve it while Sasuke emerged from the water noisily. She had to stare for a moment, watching with keen eyes as water droplets clung to his blue-black hair, which was now significantly less spiky than normal and dipped down at the back of his skull noticeably.

He had never looked sexier to her, even with that scowl on his face.

* * *

Several hours later, they arrived back at her house still dripping with water ("I cannot _believe_ you forgot towels.." "Oh shut up, ya pansy.") One of the two looked rather happy, and one looked slightly less tense than normal. Sakura threw open the door, bellowing a greeting to her family before ushering Sasuke in. "Stay here. I'll be right back." She told him with a smile before darting upstairs in a movement too fast for his eyes to track before reappearing just as fast with two thick towels in hand. She handed one to Sasuke before rubbing the other through her hair thoroughly. "Sakura, I thought I've told you about dripping water in the house." Anko appeared suddenly, staring reproachfully at her faux daughter. Sakura smiled sheepishly, though a mischievious glint that made Sasuke rather nervous remained in her eyes.

"Sorry, mom." Sakura looked properly contrite, though Sasuke knew better than to think that it would last for long. Anko was apparently of the same mind, as she merely arched an eyebrow at her 'daughter' and didn't say anything. The purple-haired woman's golden eyes flicked to Sasuke next, and turned apprehensive as she studied intently. Sasuke quickly grew uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze, though his face remained as impassive as ever. After a few scrutinizing, long moments, her focus flickered back to the younger vampire and her eyes promptly turned warm.

"Sakura, can I speak to you in the kitchen for a moment?" Anko asked the pink-haired woman quietly, too low for Sasuke to hear, though Sakura saw his eyebrows knit together in confusion as the keen-eyed Uchiha had undoubtedly noticed Anko's lips moving. The rosette nodded slowly, curious, and bid a quick 'be right back' to her…boyfriend (that would take some getting used to.) She followed her foster mother to the kitchen loyally; blissfully unaware of the fact that Sasuke was watching her leave intently.

While he waited for the two female Hatakes to return, Sasuke started to dry off, as he was still dripping water onto the floor beneath him. Only moments later, he looked up from underneath the towel to see Anko and Sakura returning, the latter of whom was looking more stressed and anxious than he had seen in a while. Upon noticing that he was studying her with something akin to worry in his dark eyes, she forced an unconvincing smile at him, and his eyes narrowed infinitesimally. "I'm going to go find that mate of mine. If I know him like I know I know him, he's off reading that damned porn of his." Anko muttered fiercely under her breath, already drifting out of the living room and into the front yard, inevitably leaving the two teenagers alone.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke demanded immediately in a low voice. She frowned slightly, before taking his hand and tugging him up the stairs without saying a word. Once again they bypassed her art room and went straight to her bedroom. A brief stab of remorse hit him because he was getting her carpet wet, but she didn't seem to care, and in conclusion she shoved him into her bathroom, obviously for him to dry off.

"I'll get you some clothes." Sakura told him through the door, before disappearing into her large closest and returning with a large, slightly faded black shirt and a pair of sweats. She knocked once on the bathroom door, before opening it ever so slightly and handing Sasuke the clothes and closing it firmly. Sasuke eyed the clothes in his hands warily, his good mood dissipating quickly at the sight of the obviously-male clothes that didn't belong to him. "They're Neji's. I stole them from him a couple weeks ago, they should fit you." Sakura informed him, her voice just loud enough to be heard. The words soothed him, though he was still a bit testy about wearing clothes that had belonged to a man who happened to dislike him immensely.

The ridiculous image of the haughty, long-haired Hatake in the faded gray sweats cheered him up slightly, however.

After changing, the Uchiha exited the room in the dry clothes, having hung up his wet clothes in the shower as Sakura had ordered.. Sakura was reading some papers when he exited, and though she looked up and smiled at him, the smile was wan and anxious, and very unlike her normal daring grin. "What're those?" He asked, attempting to study the papers as he approached. The papers disappeared immediately in a blurred action, and he cocked a dark eyebrow as his curiosity grew.

"Nothing of consequence." She answered evasively, before seeming to hesitate on something. "Sasuke, can I ask you something?"

He cocked his head in silent permission, before sitting down in the chair opposite the petite pinkette. The position reminded him of the last time he had been in the Hatake's room, and his black eyes flickered to the closed blinds subliminally. Sakura ignored this, and after a moment, he met her somber golden eyes. "Feel free."

"Could you tell me about the death of your family?" She hesitated on asking, and her large golden eyes watched him, immediately catching the minute changes in his previously casual posture. He stiffened, his shoulders snapping taut, and his gaze turned carefully blank as he studied her.

"How'd you find out about that?" He demanded immediately, almost glaring at her.

She ignored his question, and merely stared at him pleadingly. "Please, Sasuke." She whispered, just barely loudly enough for him to hear. He continued to stare at her for a moment, noticing the way that she almost didn't want to talk to him about it, but also somehow as if she was resigned in having to do so. After another moment of silence, he sighed and slumped back into his chair as he ran his hand over his face.

"I was seven when it happened." He began slowly. "I had stayed late at school to try out for the talent show, and lost track of time. It was my job to walk myself home, and I did so, despite how dark it had become. My family and I had bought a patch of land for ourselves and had created a type of town for our closest relatives and ourselves. We had small bakeries, and grocery stores, and places where children could play; everything you could think of, we had. I knew something was wrong when I approached, due to the fact that there were no lights on in any of the buildings or on the streets. I distinctly remember seeing a slashed banner that had been for my aunt's bakery shop, and wondering what had happened.

"I didn't actually see any of the... bodies until I reached my parents' house. Normally, my mother had dinner on the stove whenever I returned home, always saying that I needed my strength, and I headed to the kitchen first, half-expecting for it to be that I'd forgotten that it was someone's birthday, and there was a surprise party going on. There, I found a pot boiling-over with beef stew spilling onto the floor, and a teakettle whistling incessantly. The house was always quiet, as my father was prone to headaches that would appear out of nowhere, but now the house was unnaturally noiseless. I then made my way to our living room, and there I found my two parents, dead with their throats ripped out." Now his voice became almost unbearably harsh, and Sakura flinched despite herself. "The walls were splattered with blood, though I didn't see any signs of a struggle.

"My parents had died with their eyes open, and had obviously seen their death coming, as my father, who was by no means an emotive man, had such a look of terror that it frightened me even more so. I wept for them afterwards. After I had managed to get a grip on myself, I spent the rest of the night searching through the rest of the homes. In there I found similar corpses, all with the exact same look of horror upon their face. Their necks were all ripped out, and blood and scraps of cloth were everywhere. I wanted to give my family a proper burial, but I lacked the strength, and I knew that I had to leave the crime scene untouched. Instead, I called the police to report what had happened, and within the hour they were there, and just as baffled as I had been.

"They worked on it for several weeks, but eventually gave up. With the help of friends and their families, I was able to give my family a proper burial. During that time, I found out who happened to be missing from the morbid site." Now his hand tightened into a fist, and Sakura flinched at the murderous glare that had settled on his handsome features, though she could tell that it wasn't aimed at her. "My _brother_." He spat the word out like it tasted foul, his expression warping ever-more. "My brother was the only one, besides myself, who had remained alive. I also know for a fact that my brother was home that day." With a deep breath, Sasuke managed to calm himself, though his hands remained fisted in his lap.

The rosette slid effortlessly from her chair to settle on her knees in front of Sasuke, as she stared up at him beseechingly. "Sasuke, I believe it may have been a good thing that you weren't there that day." She began quietly, still looking up at him. Sasuke stiffened, his expression twisting into something malicious.

"Are you saying that it's a good thing that I couldn't have died with my family?" He demanded, and she promptly glowered him into silence.

"That's not what I meant, idiot." She snapped fiercely, before taking a breath to try and calm herself. When she spoke again, her voice was soft again. "What I mean to say is that I believe my family and I may be able to help you avenge your family's murder." She explained, feeling him stiffen, though this time in disbelief. "Neji and Tenten went into town earlier today, and they returned with some interesting news." Now she revealed the slightly crinkled papers once more, before handing them over to the only remaining Uchiha, who scanned them briefly before throwing them away in disgust. "Sasuke, that picture and report told us something."

"What?"

"We're almost positive that whomever killed your brother had been turned into a fledgling shortly before."

"Like a fledgling vampire?" He clarified.

She nodded, looking pleased. "Exactly. You remember what I said about new vampires not having any control over themselves whatsoever?" Sasuke nodded, looking as eager as he could possibly look. "Well, that's the truth. They can't determine the difference between family and prey for several years after they're turned. That's why it's so important to keep an eye on them, because they can and will do a lot of damage if left alone. Was your brother missing for several days before the massacre?"

Sasuke thought for a moment, before nodding slowly. "Yes, yes he was. I remember my mother and father fretting over it, and wondering to myself if they would be that worried if I had gone missing."

Sakura now looked rather satisfied. "I thought so. We might have to do more digging, but if we prove right, we might be able to help you redress the honor of your family. It would make our job a lot easier if you could let me draw out a picture of your brother as you remember him so we can keep our eyes out for him whenever we go hunting around here. It makes sense that he would want to return to the scene, if he hasn't already, to witness what he did."

"Anything to help." Sasuke promised her immediately, and she smiled at him gently before beginning to speak once more.

"Of course, this also means that we must start to question whether or not your brother was released on purpose, or if he escaped. Did your family have any grudges?"

The Uchiha before her shook his head. "Not that I know of."

"That will make things difficult, but not unbearable." She began musing to herself, and Sasuke collapsed back into silence to allow his mind to wrap around the idea that a newly turned vampire had been the murderer of his family, and that the vampire could possibly have been his own brother. It was mind-boggling, though he would adjust to it quickly. After a moment, Sakura ceased her musings and got to her feet before stretching, but Sasuke knew that the stretching was more a habit than anything else. "I suppose you'll want to get a lift home now, huh?" She smiled at him brightly, offering him a hand. He took the cold appendage without hesitation and allowed her to pull him to his feet.

"Sakura." She hummed in response, beginning to walk away, but being forced to stop when Sasuke grabbed her arm in a firm, but not bruising grip. Now mildly confused, Sakura turned to look up at him. The look in his black eyes made her pause. It was filled with heat and longing, and had definitely not been there a few seconds before. "Thank you."

And then he crashed his lips to hers.

* * *

Yeah, see? Crappy.

I changed the summary to those who didn't notice. The old one got annoying.

However, I might be changing it soon, so if you have a summary for me, feel free to send it in. :P

I'll say this one more time for everyone:

**LEMON NEXT CHAPTER!!**

And yes, I had to do a bit of altering with Sasuke's family massacre. So sue me.

**Reviewer Replies:**

_KurenaiBara-chan_: You triple-love my story? Wow, that's a lot of love. Eesh. Hah hah. I can only update so fast, though! lol.

_Kingdom-Hearts-Angel_: You're getting into my story! Yay! That makes me ridiculously happy! Like words cannot describe. I'm always glad to hear this.

_Maxium_: Yeah, I know. Sasuke took Sai's appearnce with a bit more pose that what would naturally be expected. But one, he was surrounded by several vampires, including one who would have beaten Sai into the ground if he did anything stupid, and two, he's an Uchiha so he would probably consider shrugging off Sai's presence as a challenge, and an Uchiha never loses. I had those in mind when I was writing the last chapter. And even then, I tried to make it to where Sasuke was kinda awkward in Sai's presence. I guess I didn't do that good of a job. Damn.

_ladyDV011_: Psychology homework, eh? Eesh. Sounds...painful. Yeah, that's a good word for it. Hah hah. Yeah, I've decided to do the lemon next chapter. Hopefully it won't be too sucky, considering it'll be my first lemon.

_Affectionate_: It was cute, eh? That's a relief. Too much description in kissing makes me nauseous, unless its leading up to a lemon or something, and I was afraid I did that or something. Sai was in character? That's good.

_CelestialMaidenofSilence_: It was like... seventeen chapters or something. I don't quite remember. Most of my chapter seem to be getting to that, by sheer coincidence of course. Yeah, I was considering a Temari/Sai pairing just for the hell of it, though its still very much up in the air. What do you think? Yay or nay? And the romance wouldn't be like my SasuSaku fluff or anything, cause that just wouldn't work. Karin will be making another appearance, though not at Sasuke's 'fun' buddy. I'm still working the kinks out of it. lol. I don't think Sakura would take lightly if he went to Karin, when he could simply go to her. Hah hah. I'm going to be bringing in several others characters, though how is a surprise that only I know. Which is basically code for, I have no idea how the hell they're coming in. lol. I just finished Brisingr, and I agree with you that he could have finished it up in the third book.

_NamineinWonderland_: Wow, I totally missed you review until the very end. Sorry, I think my beta's review kinda smothered it into hiding. -swats beta with a bat- Anyways, here's your update, I hope you like it! Aw, I don't rock that much. I'm a bit of dork, actually. lol.

_IDontNeedToReply_: Yeah, Sai's an enigma. As I told another reviewer, I had been considering a Temari/Sai just for that 'what the hell' factor that I love so much. lol. I'm still not quite sure if I'm going to do though. You'll up me by fifty? Isn't that a poker term? Hmmm...anyways. Your a vegetarian, too? Cool! I knew I liked you! Hah hah. You, inadequate? You jest. I got you hooked on MCR? OH hell yes! I do that alot, though. Though one of my friends isn't allowed to listen to them anymore due to the fact that her aunt feels that the music is devil music, basically. Which kinda makes me want to bring over all of my CDs whenever I'm over there, but I don't because her aunt is actually rather cool. MCR doesn't make people suffer. You should be honored to have me as your mentor. I shall teach you everything I know about MCR, including when the lead singer got married, to whom, when, how, and where he currently lives (No, I'm not a stalker. He just happens to be my idol, is all) And yes, Ino can be quite sneaky when she wants to be. Which is funny, because they wind up having hanky panky in eleven. Maybe she can tell the future too? lol. And yes, Shika is the freaking sex. I love him to bits. Did you know I happen to support the pairing ShikaSaku? Cause I do. I support all the weird, never-gonna-happen pairings. Damn. I don't want to be one of the cool kids? I _like _my dorky self. I like spending time in Dragon's Lair and various other bookstores, and spending obscene amounts of time on the computer! Nah, I don't, cause it makes me depressed that they have more reviews than I do. lol. Um, as far as I know, Sasuke isn't a yaoi fan. Sakura, though...maybe. But aren't we all? Especially _SasuNaru_. My _GOD_. Words fail me on the kinkiness of it. Hah hah, have you noticed that I have a tendency to make Sasuke an oblivious, but affectionate fool? Cuz I do. I noticed that earlier. Yeah, I can see how well that goes: I message them, telling them that I happen to pimp Gerard out in an anime story that I write online, and that I want benefits for it. Um, yeah. Crazy much? Um, yes, I do. Did you know that I stood two feet away from him, in all his dorky glory? Cause I did. He's so CUTE! And I mean that in a "Aw, squishy-teddy-bear kind of cute. (Now THAT'S manly.) Now, if only he would realize that he's whipped. lol. Um, actually, I made up that retort. It didn't take long. According to my friends, I have enough sass to make people stop and stare. Nice, right? No, damn, they weren't. Bugger. We have a love-child? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL MEEEEEEE?! (Okay, I'm done now.)

_4everDestined_: The chapter titles are completely random. They're only names of Constellations that I found on Google. They have no meaning. lol. And actually, he does do that though he didn't start until Ino, but I had to change it slightly for this story, due to the fact that the only thing I've ever seen him refer to Sasuke as is 'traitor' and that obviously work here. They kiss alot here, actually. And yeah, the actiony stuff will start soon, I swear. Everything's taking way longer than I had planned on. Eesh.


	11. Virgo

Okay, eleventh chapter is up, people!

And as I promised, there is a lemon, and it kinda...turned out longer than I had planned on. Seriously. Like the actual lemon came out six pages in Word. So um, yeah. Whoops. But I don't think it is too graphic. I think.

Oh, and animeguurl, I didn't do the 'lemon starts' and 'lemons ends' thing because that happens to annoy the crap out of me. BUT, what I did do was that, I used a line break thing. So skip the _second_ line...break...thing (What're they called again) and the lemon will be over. I hope that's a good compromise.

Oh! I edited my summary slightly again, due to the fact that stupid kept taking away the first quotation marks. TRY AND TAKE MY QUOTATION MARKS WILL YOU!?

Yeah, okay. I'm done.

Nothing else really to add, though I still don't own Naruto. (Damn.)

Holy crap, this chapter wound up being over 10,000 words. Hot damn.

* * *

Sakura stood frozen for a moment, staring blindly at Sasuke's closed eyelids, though when she felt his tongue prod at the seam of her lips, she opened her mouth obediently to him before burrowing her fingers into Sasuke's rather thick hair and tugging on his scalp insistently. The kiss was urgent, much more so than normal, and she had to remind herself to be gentle with Sasuke, as she was definitely strong enough to crush him like an eggshell if her concentration slipped even the slightest bit. Sasuke's tongue dove into her mouth, and he immediately began to familiarize himself with her essence as he began to practically devour her from the inside out.

She felt his fingers begin to dig into her hips after they had drifted down her face and neck, before skimming her shoulders and caressing her figure until they settled at her hips. She clearly felt his blunt fingernails begin to dig into her skin, though it didn't bother her any. Sasuke quickly dragged her to him, and she didn't bother smothering the fragment of satisfaction that settled in her chest at the realization that their bodies fit together snugly, despite his significant height advantage to her. She felt more than heard a low growl reverberate from his chest as he evidently realized this as well.. The sound was low, rough, and undoubtedly possessive. Of her. She refrained from giggling at the thought of him not even knowing consciously that he was doing it.

When Sakura felt Sasuke begin to knead the skin on her hips through the fabric of her damp jean shorts, she forced herself to wrench away from him, her breathing slightly erratic and her eyes wild. "We… we shouldn't be doing this." She gasped, with one hand on his chest firmly. Onyx eyes darkened slightly at the thought of _him_ being the one to do it to her with nothing more than a kiss. Instead of responding, he allowed a smug smirk to curve the corner of his lips, and the sight of it made Sakura freeze, and her veins filled with liquid heat.

"Why not?" He purred, perfectly content to allow the hormones that he usually kept under such good control to run rampart through his bloodstream. Sakura seemed at a loss for words for a moment, before looking away from him in an effort to restrain herself. He watched her swallow, and then saw her jaw clench before she sighed and brushed past him. At first, he thought she was trying to subtly tell him to get the hell out of her sight, before he watched as she made it to the door and locked it firmly before whirling around to face him. As he watched, she seemed to slip into some kind of hunting crouch, as her golden eyes gleamed with mischief and not a small amount of blatant lust.

Instinctively, the crouch and the look in her eyes made him fearful, though he suppressed the nearly overwhelming urge to flee. Almost faster than he could track, Sakura was in front of him, her eyes gleaming with a small hint of satisfaction. "Just so nobody disturbs us." She murmured, before fisting her hands into his already rumpled hair and dragging his lips down to her's impatiently. They both knew that with her mind-reading sister, the chances of them being interrupted were almost nothing, and while the locked door wasn't strong enough to handle a charging vampire by any stretch of the imagination, it would also be enough of a deterrent for them to be left alone.

Sakura's lips, rock-hard but satiny smooth, much smoother than the rest of her body, skimmed over his own eagerly, and he was filled with pure masculine satisfaction to note that she was responding to her lust just as much as he was. She had always been unendingly careful with him, never hesitating to touch him, but her touches were also brief and fleeting and wary, and now she was allowing some of her boundaries to be destroyed after some original hesitance.  
They somehow managed to make it to her bed; even Sakura was surprisingly clumsy, as she seemed very determined on remaining attached to his lips at all cost.

Not that he minded, or anything.

Out of pure instinct, Sasuke caught his weight on his elbows when they tumbled onto her bed to avoid crushing the tiny woman underneath him, though it was undoubtedly pointless. He had the feeling that if he ran a freight train into Sakura, the train would be more damaged than her.

Now that they were on the bed, her curves fit even more snugly against his body, and he didn't bother to smother the low growl that vibrated from deep within his chest as he switched his attention to the pale, slender column of her neck and the hollow behind her ear that he'd discovered early on. He scarcely heard the low mewl that came from her throat when he brushed the tip of his tongue in the dip of her collarbone, but after he realized that it was indeed coming from her, he settled quite happily with the intent of compelling her to make that sound again firmly in his mind. It didn't take long, and he was beginning to seriously enjoy the noises, as she sounded like a contented kitten whenever she mewled in his ear.

He languorously sucked the bottom of her ear into his mouth and scraped his teeth against the skin teasingly. This time, she gasped breathily and within seconds, her hands were on his shirt, attempting to find a way to remove the shirt without having to remove his lips. Finally, she growled, "Screw this," and ripped the shirt into shreds.

"I rather liked that shirt." Sasuke objected against the skin of her throat, which he had busied himself with while she had been preoccupied with destroying his shirt.

"I don't give a shit." Sakura growled, before dragging his lips up to her's. Note to self: Sakura gets cranky when horny. Before he was fully aware of what she was doing, Sakura had flipped them abruptly and he found himself on his back, staring blankly at the smug vampire. She settled herself over his hips, eyeing him as a painter would eye a piece of artwork, and making him rather uncomfortable. After a moment, she shrugged and leaned down to kiss him chastely. She had her position held carefully so he could only feel her thighs on either side of him and nothing else. He didn't bother to control the complaining rumble deep in his throat, and she chuckled before slackening her tense pose and allowing her curves to press snugly against him once more.

After managing to regain control of his limbs again, Sasuke's hands crawled up to her hips and crushed her to him with another low growl. Sakura's golden eyes flashed open and stared at his undeniably arrogant black ones, and she gasped into his mouth at the feel of his arousal prodding insistently into the notch between her legs. Wordlessly, he had conveyed to her just how much he was not in the mood to be fucked with. Keeping his own dark eyes locked with her's, he ground his hips against her deliberately, and she gasped loudly at the sensation, whimpering loudly when he did it again. Unconsciously, she threw her head back and arched her back in a rather feline-like gesture, pressing her hips against his firmly.

He didn't bother to stifle the groan as it reverberated from his chest, up his throat, and into their connected mouth. Deciding suddenly that Sakura needed payback, he set about distracting her just enough. She responded eagerly, and when she wasn't paying attention, he skillfully began unbuttoning her shirt before slipping it down her arms. Judging by the feel of the curve of her lips against his, she knew what he was doing, though she didn't bother to try and stop him. His hands traveled up to her waist and pressed her against himself firmly. She whimpered low in her throat, instinctively grinding against him. Her breasts pressed firmly into his chest, along with the rough lace of her bra. He broke apart the kiss to breathe and instead skimmed his nose down her neck. Sakura tilted her head back in easy compliance, and he let out a low purr at the sight of her impish black bra.

Brushing his lips along her collarbone and over her shoulder, he slid one bra strap down so it hung limply against her arm. Laying down a surprisingly gentle kiss on the exposed skin, he then skimmed his nose back over her shoulder and into the dip of her scapula before laying feather-light kisses on the pale, hard flesh that framed her black bra. She whimpered again, and after deciding that she was thoroughly distracted, Sasuke took the opportunity to flip them back around, immediately catching his weight with his hands. Due to their new positions, one of his thighs wound up between her legs, though he couldn't say he minded much.  
"That was hardly fair." Sakura complained breathily. He merely smirked down at her.

After all, Uchihas are always top.

Instead, he busied himself with the tops of her breasts again, nipping occasionally and earning one or two breathy gasps in the process. Apparently, his vampire was very sensitive to being touched. Goodie. "Front or back?" He growled hoarsely, and Sakura blinked, temporarily surfacing from the cloud of lust that had settled over her and glanced down at him. His own darkened onyx eyes were impatient as they stared at her, and after making sure that she was looking, he clasped a clothed nipple in his mouth. The scorching heat of his mouth over her sensitive areola made her gasp loudly, and she arched her back with a shrill whimper in a desperate attempt to make him take more of her breast in his mouth.

Two suckles later, and she was a wiggling bundle of nerves in his capable mouth, and with a strong effort, she gasped out, "Front."

Damn. He would have liked to turn her over.

He skimmed the tips of his fingers over her flat stomach before finding the clasp easily and unsnapping it. Her breasts bounced free of their restraints, and he firmly took a nipple into his mouth while one of his hands began to tease the other nipple gently. She clutched blindly at his hair, tugging at it urgently, the only thought in her mind being: Oh, God! GOD GOD GOD GOD! at the sensation of his talented mouth and his talented fingers. Her nails instinctively dug into his scalp, and when she felt him give off a barely discernible wince, she forced her tight grasp to relax and prevent him from bleeding, which would _definitely _push her over the edge she was already clinging precariously to.

She surfaced again briefly, when she felt his hands begin to seek out the button to her shorts, and she quickly bucked his hands off. "You first." She panted, feeling surprisingly breathless as her golden gaze eyed him heatedly. Sasuke groaned in exasperation around her nipple, and the vibrations caused her to whimper once more. "Do it, Sasuke." Her voice exceedingly rough, and completely charged with arousal, and with one final bite to her budding nipple and eliciting a husky moan in response, Sasuke reared off of her cold form to quickly chuck off his pants. "Boxers, too." She told him, eyeing the hardness visible in his still-damp boxers warily. This time, Sasuke smirked and shook his head, silently daring her to complain..

"You first, Sakura." His voice was affectionately mocking, before he covered her form with his larger one and proceeding to kiss her stupid. Sakura let out a soft sigh as his overwhelming heat covered her and caused warmness to travel to the tips of her toes like that of which she hadn't felt in over one hundred and fifty years. This time when she felt his fingers at the hem of her shorts, she allowed him to pull them down and off, and realized quickly that he had been sneaky and snagged her panties along with her shorts while he was at it. Now she was completely nude underneath him, and the way he was eyeing her naked figure was causing electricity to shoot through her body, and she was finding it difficult to be mad at him.

She clearly heard his mumbled 'beautiful' and immediately began to feel flustered at his awkward compliment. Sasuke began to pay his respects to her breasts once more, and as a form of payback, she lifted her legs slowly, and purposefully made sure that her thighs dragged against his languorously before wrapping snugly around his hips. Now his rather evident arousal poked incessantly at her most secret of places, and she ground against it, earning a hiss. "If you don't want this over quickly, I suggest you stop that." Sasuke's normally smooth voice was amazingly rough and guttural against her skin, and she immediately felt herself get wetter at the sensation.

"And if you actually want this to happen, I suggest you hurry up." She mimicked him; the threatening words lessened somewhat by her breathy tone. The Uchiha on top of her let out another hoarse groan as she lifted her hips against him persistently. Faster than he could comprehend, Sakura snagged his boxers and ripped them off of him in a swift movement.

Okay, she _really_ had to stop that.

"There." She managed to force out, still managing to sound smug even though her voice died abruptly when she felt him leave her now thoroughly ravished breasts and travel down into the valley between them, before sliding his nose against the taut skin of her flat stomach and dipping his tongue teasingly into her navel. "Sasuke." She whined pleadingly, desperate for him to fill her completely. Sasuke now visibly hesitated, glancing up to meet her lust-hazed eyes. Correctly reading the silent question in his eyes, she rolled her eyes and yanked him up so she could ravish his lips with her's. "Either you get it started, or I will." She growled out, whimpering loudly when she felt the tip of his erection dip teasingly into her.

Taking her rough words as consent, Sasuke obliged her and slid into her slowly to allow her to become accustomed to his girth. As she felt every inch of him slide home, she gasped, arching her back with a loud moan. "Oh my _God_." She hissed out, wrapping her legs around his hips now in an effort to drag him closer into her. Sasuke let out his own muffled groan against the skin of her shoulder at the sensation of her silken walls, which felt better than _anything_ he had ever felt before, eagerly wrapping around his length. Once he was completely sheathed within her, he began to slide out part of the way, before sliding in abruptly. As was the rest of her body, her inner walls were cool to the touch, though he certainly didn't seem to mind.

Lifting his head slightly to watch Sakura's face, he rolled his hips experimentally against her, and was rewarded by a grimace of pleasure, which mimicked his own at the sensation of her walls rippling along his erection eagerly. He slowly set up a pattern of two hard thrusts, and one soft, fueled on by the sounds coming from Sakura, who continually got louder as she felt herself getting closer to the edge that he was rapidly driving her towards with his perfectly-timed thrusts and quiet grunts. Sasuke felt his own release approaching him rapidly, and his already rather hard thrusts became less timed and more erratic in response. With two more thrusts, Sakura felt herself tumble over the edge, and arched her back instinctively into his while she came, shrieking out wordlessly, nearly deafening him in the process.

He didn't last much longer, and he quickly followed her over the edge, shutting his eyes tightly with something between a grunt and a moan escaping him, as intense pleasure wracked his frame. For a few seconds, all he could see was white, which slowly leeched away to allow him to see Sakura's blissful face. For once, the normally talkative rosette was silent, her golden eyes looking up at him with such open affection that he immediately felt awkward. He couldn't remember the last time someone had looked at him so fondly. Feeling too embarrassed to meet her gaze, Sasuke dropped his head into the crook of his neck. "Feel up for another round?" Sakura asked conversationally, having to speak up so he could hear her in his now half-deaf ear, feeling his panting chest press against her own. He shook his head, and she chuckled. "I didn't think so. But I don't think that I am either, for that matter."

After a moment of regaining his wits, Sasuke pulled out and slumped down bonelessly next to her. After sliding a thin blanket over their bodies, Sakura promptly snuggled into his chest with a contented sigh. "That was…wow." Her voice was soft, so soft he could barely hear her and he allowed himself a contented smirk. He threw his arm over her shoulder, feeling slightly tired after such an intense, but pleasurable, workout. "I'll definitely have to have a second go at this." She mumbled into his chest, and he was startled into a laugh, which rumbled pleasantly in her ear. His head lolled against one of her many pillows as he felt sleep descend upon him rapidly, for once content in the arms of the woman he loved.

It was rather odd that somebody who never needed to sleep had so many _goddamned_ pillows.

* * *

"Sasuke? Sasuke, wake up!"

Several hours later, the Uchiha found himself being roused brusquely by an ice-cold hand on his shoulder. Instinctively, he reached up to grasp the hand and cracked an eye open blearily. When he realized that it was Sakura perched above him, supporting her weight with one hand while the other was currently in his grasp. He released her hand, and she moved back slightly to allow him to sit up. The blanket slipped down to lay dangerously low around his hips, and Sakura stared blatantly at the revealed skin. He merely smirked at her, before biting back a yawn. "Is something wrong?" He asked her.

Now she looked rather sheepish. "Not really. But I figured you would like to get home." She jerked her chin towards the glowing alarm clock at the foot of her bed, and Sasuke's dark eyes slid over before widening fractionally. In glowing red letters, the clock read one-eleven in the morning.

"How long was I asleep?" He asked.

"About five hours." Sakura answered nonchalantly, as she settled back down next to him, tucking the sheet around her modestly. He blinked, surprised that it had been that long. "So, about going home…" She trailed off suggestively.

"In what clothes?" He deadpanned. "You shredded my shirt _and _my boxers." She shrugged, unabashed.

"Okay, in my defense, they were in the way." She defended herself. "And for another thing, your original clothes should be dry by now. Y'know, minus the boxers."

"I'm not going to go commando in jeans." He protested almost immediately, already uncomfortable with the prospect. She sighed, eyeing him as if he were an impudent child who needed a good smacking, before rolling her eyes.

"So what do you want to do now, you big baby?" She asked exasperatedly. He shrugged, before flopping back down onto her rather comfortable bed wordlessly.

"You want to stay here?" She confirmed incredulously. He cracked open one dark eye to look at her pointedly.

"I fail to see the problem with that. We'll just make sure we stop by my house on the way to school."

"What if I don't want to make another stop?" She was grasping at straws now, and by the look in his single eye, he knew it.

"Then I'll drive." His voice, still rather groggy, now turned nonchalant.

"What do I get in return?" She challenged. Sasuke thought for a moment, before shrugging at her in a rather blasé manner.

"I won't tell you to keep your eyes on the road?" He offered impishly. She blinked at him, considering.

"…Fine," She agreed hesitantly, deflating.

"Good. Now I'm going back to bed." He promptly turned over so his back was facing her.

"Fine, but I'm not staying in bed." She warned, already getting out of bed, sorely tempted to ask for a goodnight kiss. At the announcement, Sasuke rolled over with a naughty gleam in his dark eyes, and she rolled her eyes as she realized that he was just wanting to see her naked. Pervert. Resisting the urge to simply use her inhuman speed, she deliberately made her movements more graceful than normal, and was rewarded by a low groan coming from Sasuke. She hid her smirk, before going to dig around for new clothes.

Sasuke watched Sakura twitch around her room, looking phenomenal even if she wasn't wearing any clothes. Arousal hit him fiercely, and with a muffled groan, he rolled onto his stomach in an effort to hide his physical reaction. Moments later, Sakura slid in to lie next to him, and with a dainty sniff, she realized what had caused the groan. "Now you're ready for the second go, are you?" She drawled, smirking. The Uchiha peeked at her with one dark eye, and she smiled innocently at him instead of continuing.

"Are you?" He muttered darkly into the pillow, and she hid a smile.

"I _suppose _I could be up for it." Her tone was innocently contemplative, and he yanked his head up to look at her. "And we have the added bonus of you already being nude, which saves any of your clothes from being shredded." She continued, faking obliviousness. "But if you're not read-" She was caught off by Sasuke sitting up abruptly and smothering her lips with his. She broke apart briefly to mutter something like 'take that as a yes' before bringing him down for another kiss, this one rougher then the others before it.

* * *

Hours later, Sakura came down the stairs with new clothes on, looking mildly pleased with herself. Kakashi, looked up from his porn, eyed his daughter curiously. "Have a good night, Sakura?" He remarked casually, his tone implying that he knew what had happened with her and Sasuke the night before. Unsurprised, she merely quirked an eyebrow and grinned at him broadly without answering. After a few seconds, Kakashi returned to his book with a slight grin present. Truth be told, his daughter was glowing, looking pleased and happier than he had seen her in the longest time. Her features were brighter than normal, her now green eyes glistening with the utmost joy, and her spiky, pale pink hair seemed to glisten healthily.  
_  
Maybe Sasuke is better for her than we'd originally thought, _Kakashi mused, supplying a mental image of Sakura for his mind-reading daughter to observe and presumably pass on to the others. Moments later, Ino drifted in with one hand held some inches in front of her eyes dramatically. Shikamaru was absent for once, having decided to go hunting with Neji in an effort to distract the irate vampire. Neji hadn't been pleased when the activities going on in Sakura's room had become apparent to the others, and they had had to restrain him to keep him from barging in on the two.

"Whoa, forehead. Your happy glow is blinding." Ino informed her closest friend dramatically, an affectionate smile curving her lips despite her teasing words. Sakura stuck her tongue out at the long-haired blonde, chuckling despite herself. "So where's Sasuke?" Ino asked, as if she didn't already know.

"Here." The Uchiha appeared suddenly on the bottom step of the staircase, looking steadily more rumpled than he had the previous night, wearing last night's clothes (the ones Sakura hadn't shredded.) Sakura brightened even more, if possible, at the sight of Sasuke, and he approached her wordlessly to stand protectively at her side for a moment. Keeping his own flat black eyes on Ino's expectant cobalt blue ones, he dropped a brief kiss on Sakura's cheek before telling her that he would be outside in the car. Ino studied his back for a moment before grinning and sliding her eyes over to Sakura's matching, but rather flustered, ones.

"You shredded his boxers, huh?" The blonde remarked casually, thoroughly enjoying the embarrassed look on her sister's face.

"They were in my freaking way." She muttered defensively under her breath, and Ino laughed. "And he didn't mind much. I think he missed the shirt more." She continued, still defensive. The long-haired vampire quirked an eyebrow at her best friend.

"I can kind of see why he didn't miss the boxers that much." Sakura looked rather mortified at the other vampire's blunt insinuation, ducking her head and avoiding her friend's satisfied eyes. "So, how was it?" Ino changed the topic abruptly. Looking even more embarrassed, Sakura refused to answer, though she mentally ran through everything, relaying the details to the blonde. After a moment, Ino let out a low whistle. "Three times, eh? Talk about a voracious appetite." The blonde commented in a distinctly airy tone, impressed despite herself.

"Shut up, Ino." Sakura snapped, before beginning to goose-step out the door. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to go and let Sasuke get new clothes." She disappeared out the door, but not before catching Ino's call of, "Try not to shred these ones, Forehead-chan!" and trying to ignore it. Sasuke evidently heard it and cocked an eyebrow at her, though he didn't bother to complain about Ino knowing about their…escapades, as he knew fully well about her ability. Sakura slid into her driver seat, smirking when she realized that Sasuke had turned on her Mindless Self Indulgence CD and was now listening to it. She slid into the driver's side of her Porsche and immediately pulled out. "I still can't believe that I'm doing this."

"Don't be annoying, Sakura." Sasuke rolled his eyes, his voice not as cold as it normally was. "And with the way you drive, I wouldn't be surprised if we still make it to school on time."

"Hey, you said that you wouldn't mock my driving today." Sakura retorted indignantly, twisting to glare at him.

"No, what I said was that I wouldn't tell you to keep your eyes on the road." Sasuke corrected smugly.

"…Damnit."

* * *

When they finally arrived at the school with Sasuke in new clothes, consisting of artfully faded black jeans that fit his ass snugly, and a plain black shirt, Sakura climbed out, fighting herself to keep from staring at the Uchiha's ass. It was like he had deliberately picked those clothes so that he could successfully distract her throughout the school day. Which he was doing, much to her annoyance.

Seriously, how would she be able to focus on her studies (pffft) with the image of his God-given perfect ass in mind?

"As normal, meet me here and I'll give you a lift home." She told him, sliding the keys into her pocket after locking her car. He merely nodded with a brisk grunt. She didn't take offense at his brusque nature, and instead reached up to kiss him briefly on the forehead before turning away. Quickly, before she was too far away, Sasuke snagged her wrist and dragged her back to him before proceeding to kiss her stupid. After making sure that she was thoroughly dazed, the Uchiha released the rosette and watched her stumble off, almost blindly in the general direction of the library, with a smug sense of male satisfaction settling quite happily in his chest.

"Yo, yo, yo. I _saaaaw_ it." Naruto's obnoxious, rather spiky, blonde head appeared suddenly in Sasuke line of vision, with a mischievious grin present on his idiotic face. Not even flinching at the unexpected appearance after it happening so many times and getting used to it, Sasuke turned around and started walking in the opposite direction with Naruto falling beside him.

"Saw what, dobe?"

"You and Sakura-chan!" Naruto paused briefly. "Necking."

Sasuke glowered at him, and Naruto lifted his hands defensively, his cerulean blue eyes flicking briefly to the direction where the pink-haired beauty had disappeared off to. "I can safely assume, judging by the fact that you're acting less bastardly than normal, which you always do after you get lucky-" Naruto paused at the intense glare shot his way, via best-friend, "That you successfully boned her. Does this mean you're going to throw her aside, or turn her into a booty call, like you did Karin?" Naruto's tone twisted slightly at the mention of the redhead.

Sasuke didn't even pause. "Neither." And he knew that he wouldn't. He was already too involved with the rosette to even consider leaving her now. Especially after she had shown him what she could do with that _mouth _of her's. Naruto noted that Sasuke didn't actually deny having slept with Sakura, and his lips curled upwards slightly.

The blonde abruptly froze as the realization hit him like a tone of bricks. After a second, he caught up to the briskly moving Uchiha and promptly grinned impishly at him. "So then are you two _dating?_" The blonde asked gleefully, sounding ridiculously cheery about the fact. Sasuke didn't pause, though he deliberated for a bit in his mind.

"Hn."

"Take that as a yes." Now significantly happier, if possible, Naruto fell silent, choosing instead to whistle. "Oh man, wait 'til I tell Kiba... He's been lusting after Sakura-chan since he first saw her." The yellow-haired man continued after a moment, sounding smug for some reason. Sasuke's keen mind called up the sentence that Kiba had told him the first day that he had seen Sakura and had been caught staring at her during lunch, almost two weeks ago.

Sasuke debated briefly on telling the dobe to remain _quiet _on the topic of him having a girlfriend and not a booty call_, _but dismissed the idea almost immediately. If there was one thing that Naruto was known for, keeping secrets wasn't one of them.

* * *

By the time lunch came around, the entire school knew that the drop-dead gorgeous school heartthrob, Uchiha Sasuke, and the new student, Haruno Sakura, were going out.

After having to deal with sobbing fangirls, and congratulations from idiotic boys for 'tapping that', Sasuke was in the mood for a good ol' fashioned thorough ass kicking.

Preferably Naruto's.

Sakura and him had decided to eat lunch with her family earlier that day to put up a unified front, as they were more likely to be approached if they were eating alone, and neither one of them wanted to think of what would happen if they were indeed approached after such a harrowing morning.

Sasuke placed his lunch tray down on the table, eyeing the quietly moaning blonde warily. Ino didn't have a tray of food, and instead had her arms folded in front of her with her head resting limply on them. Shikamaru was rubbing her back in soft methodical strokes, though it didn't seem to be doing much good. "What's wrong with her?" Sasuke asked, tilting his head in the direction of the groaning Ino. Sakura sat down next to him, smiling sardonically at her upset best friend. The rosette's knee brushed his, and he fought back the urge to throw her down on the table and mount her like a lion.

(Good _God_, he had been watching too much 'Scrubs.' _Damn_ that Naruto.)

"Don't mind her. She's been bombarded with thoughts of you and Sakura all day, and it's gotten a bit overwhelming." Tenten replied, shooting an apologetic look at the slumped blonde out of the corner of her eyes. Neji didn't respond, though he had stiffened unnoticeably after the Uchiha had sat down. Ino lifted her head slowly, her dark blue eyes boring into her closest friend's, almost pleadingly.

"Words fail me as to how to describe just how disturbing the good majority of these thoughts are. I swear, after several hours of this, I'm extremely tempted to violate either one of you." The beautiful blonde complained to her family (plus one), flicking her (still perfect) white-blonde hair out of her eyes.

"Please don't." Both Sasuke and Sakura immediately replied in unison, the latter fighting back a smile at the occurrence while the former kept an emotionless expression up. Ino flashed them both a dirty look.

"I'm not actually going to, you idiots." The other vampire snapped back in irritation, though they still remained unbothered by her caustic phrase. Sasuke began to eat neatly, a side effect of having an extremely strict upbringing. "Jeez, you'd think that you guys didn't have kinky sex all last night or something. I wasn't even this nauseous last night as a result of you two than I am currently, and that's saying something." The blonde continued, purposefully mentioning the activities of the night before; and Sasuke stiffened before relaxing as Sakura kneaded the skin of his thighs idly with one hand, having sensed his tension. Neji too seemed to have stiffened, his dark silver eyes narrowing at the arrogant Uchiha almost accusingly. Not one to back down from a fight, Sasuke merely smirked back and purposefully wrapped his arms around Sakura's slim waist possessively.

Sakura relaxed against his side slightly in response. If she knew what he was doing, she obviously didn't care enough to shrug him off. Now Neji's expression darkened malevolently, though it smoothed after Tenten not-so-discreetly shoved her elbow into his ribs, though still not hard enough to make any noise. "Ne, Sasuke." He looked down towards the rosette currently nested into his side and away from the amusing sight of a sulking Neji in front of him. "Let's do the sketch of your brother later today, alright?" His expression hardened at the mention of his despised older brother, though he nodded reluctantly at her suggestion. Satisfied, Sakura turned back around only to notice that they were missing someone.

"Hey, where's Hinata?"

Wordlessly, her other family members tilted a finger in the direction of Sasuke's other friends. Glancing over, they saw the long-haired, shy girl squashed in between Naruto and Shino. They easily saw the way that she clutched onto Naruto's jacket, especially since it was obvious that Kiba was hitting on her, much to the blonde's anger. "Apparently, Naruto convinced her to eat lunch with him today." Ino explained, her voice muffled against the skin of her arm. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow; dark eyes watching as Hinata suddenly looked mortified and burrowed her face into Naruto's arm. Naruto rubbed her back comfortingly, shooting the dog-lover a dirty look as he did so.

"Wonder what that idiot said." The words slipped out without Sasuke originally intending him to, but he merely shrugged when he was flashed an amused glance from Sakura. Glancing back at him briefly, she looked forward at her adopted sister.

"That idiot friend of yours made a provocative comment to Hinata-chan." The rosette informed him darkly, before getting to her feet. Obediently, Sasuke followed her, while Ino and Tenten got up as well. "Let's go liberate her." The pink-haired vampire declared, before beginning to saunter across the cafeteria with everyone in tow. When they were still some feet away, Hinata lifted her head and smiled gratefully when she saw them approach. A few seconds later, Naruto did the same and greeted his best friend with a loud, "Teme!"

Then everyone looked up at the boisterous call, seeing the approaching party and looking surprised as a result. Sakura stepped forward, smiling beatifically at them.

"Hello, everyone. We just came to retrieve Hinata." She explained as a greeting. Kiba had fallen silent, having seen the pink-haired beauty and fallen mute at the idea that she was coming towards them. Sasuke noticed this, and his eyes narrowed slightly, before he tuggied Sakura closer to him. Sakura rolled her dark green eyes at his possessive behavior, but tolerated it. For the time-being. Hinata got to her feet silently with a hushed farewell to the other people at the table and joined her family, and after a brief moment, Naruto followed her. "Thanks, guys." Sakura flashed them a dazzling smile, and even Shino seemed surprised behind his round sunglasses.

Then they turned and left the cafeteria. It didn't take Naruto long to break the silence. "So where are we going?" Sakura turned to smile at him, apparently not concerned about the fact that he hadn't actually been invited to come along. After all, if he made Hinata happy, he was all right by her. Neji… not so much, but only because he was paranoid about his by-blood cousin. Even more paranoid than normal, which was saying something.

"Well, Tenten, Hinata, Sasuke, Ino, and myself are going to ditch for the rest of the day." She informed him. "Feel free to come along if you like." She offered after a moment thought.

"Cool! Thanks, Sakura-chan!" Naruto smiled adorably at her, and she inwardly turned to mush at the sight of the teddy bear smile. "So where are we going?"

"I'm not sure. The mall?" Sakura answered thoughtfully, before turning to her family members. "Any ideas?"

"The mall sounds fine to me." Ino brightened at the thought of going to her favorite place on earth. Rolling her eyes, Sakura merely waved off the to-be-expected answer. Hinata agreed, as did Tenten with a bit more hesitance present. The tomboyish woman never liked doing anything particularly girly, and usually had to be forced into doing something of the sort, with help from Sakura naturally. "Especially since there's that dance coming up soon." The blonde added on tactfully after a moment, her tone half-heartedly persuasive.

"Which we are not going to." Sasuke butted in then, glancing at his smaller mate out of the corner of his eye. She smiled serenely up at him, and didn't say anything.

"That's fine. Hinata, Tenten, and myself are." Ino rolled her eyes.

"Actually, Neji and I decided not to go as well." Tenten told the long-haired blonde reluctantly. Ino now looked thoroughly exasperated, but didn't say anything. Sakura ignored the banter, tapping her chin with a slender, long index finger. "Hey, Saki-chan. What's up?" Sakura looked up, startled, at her affectionate nickname. After a moment of blinking stupidly at the brunette, the question registered and Sakura smiled airily.

"Nothing, Ten-chan. I'm just currently trying to figure out how to get everyone into my Porsche." The rosette answered. Naruto visibly brightened at the idea of riding in Sakura's beloved convertible, though Ino's response plummeted his hopes.

"Uh, Billboard Brow, I know how much you love that car of yours, but it can only fit, like, two people, maybe four if you push it. How about we take my car? It's got more room." Ino offered instead. Sakura looked affronted by the very thought, her green eyes widening.

"I'm not leaving my car here for those…_vultures_ to gawk at!" The pinkette protested indignantly. Ino eyed her wearily. She had expected the response. "Besides, we can bundle up." Now the blonde quirked an eyebrow at the confusing statement. "I mean, I could sit on Sasuke's lap, Hinata could sit on Naruto's." The rosette elaborated in mild frustration, her tone implying that Ino was the classic blonde, which the blonde ignored

"And who would drive?"

"Um… Tenten?"

"Sure, why not?" The brunette agreed humbly, knowing the rosette was extremely protective of her car, and while she was closer to Ino, the blonde had a tendency to drive recklessly. Sakura now looked rather satisfied, and Ino gave in with a sigh. Her best friend's stubbornness could make a donkey look easy-going by comparison. With that settled, the six of them started for Sakura's burgundy Porsche, which stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the other shabby cars. They decided that Sakura would sit on Sasuke's lap in the front, with Ino, and Hinata on Naruto's lap in the back. The Uchiha couldn't say that he disliked the feeling of Sakura being on his lap, if only she would stop wiggling so much, no matter how antsy she was about her favorite car being driven by someone else. Finally having to do something to stop himself from doing something to her that he would later regret, he clamped a hand over her hip in an attempt to get her to settle down.

"Stop, Sakura." He growled out, his voice vaguely rough. She pouted at him.

"But I want to drive." She whined, sticking out her lower lip in an effort to woo him.

"Would you rather Tenten sat on my lap?" Sasuke countered, instead of focusing on what else she could do with that mouth. She immediately shook her head vigorously with a loud 'no.' "If you don't want that to happen on the ride back, I suggest you calm down." She pouted at him, but did as he bade. She buried her face into the crook of his neck. Ino attempted to smother her snickers, though she doubted that she succeeded very well, judging by the glower Sakura flashed her over Sasuke's shoulder. Due to incessant nagging from some of the other passengers in the car, Sakura had reluctantly changed the CD to something more mellow, though she knew that Tenten, as the driver, couldn't care less. Now smoother rock music, though still rather different, flowed through the speakers. Sakura had tried sneaking in a From First to Last CD, but Ino had read the intention in her mind and intercepted her immediately.  
_  
Once upon a time  
We had a lot to fight for  
We had a dream, we had a plan  
Sparks in the air,  
We spread a lot of envy  
_  
Ino immediately groaned. "Please God, change the song. Forehead and her boy toy are making me nauseous." Sasuke immediately attempted to halt the thoughts in his mind, feeling insulted by the airy 'boy toy' comment. With a low laugh, Tenten did as the blonde had bid and changed the song randomly. The next song was much better, and the brunette left Sakura to do it, as she knew the CDs much better than they did, due to the obscene amount of time she spent listening to said CDs at eardrum-splitting levels, mostly whenever she had something to hide from her best friend, which didn't happen often. One of the times had been when Shika had first proposed.  
_  
Fate lies ahead  
Like the sun will rise  
The light has been gone  
Far too long  
From your eyes  
_  
"This will do." Ino declared from the back, settling back down into her (rather uncomfortable) seat. Pleased, Sakura twisted back around to press her back against Sasuke to turn it up, quickly beginning to sing along perfectly after a few verses.  
_  
Run to your boy  
Don't conceal your scars  
Run to your boy  
Let him feel your love  
Before it's too late!  
_  
Sakura sang along, nestling into Sasuke's warm chest. She seriously doubted she would ever cease being so affectionate toward him. He was so warm, overwhelmingly so, and soft, despite the hard muscles she could feel underneath the flimsy skin. Every time she pressed close to him, no matter how briefly, she could feel the slight bump against her skin that was his pulse, though she didn't mind it nearly as much as she used to. Stiffly, awkwardly, Sasuke wrapped his arms around her waist, and she purred in contentment. Naruto grimaced over Hinata's soft lilac hair at the pair diagonal from him, telling them loudly to 'get a room.' Though when he heard Hinata's soft, almost muted, giggle against the fabric over his shoulder, he found himself just as stupidly smitten as Sasuke was, as he smiled down at the endearingly shy, small girl curled on his lap.

Ino studied the pair in front of her intently; quite happy for her close friend who had finally found someone that could tolerate her quirkiness. Even if it was an emotionally constipated jackass with a God complex. A corner of her lips quirked up at the thought, tuning out the other thoughts of everyone in the general vicinity in politeness, as she focused intently on her own thoughts. Despite Sasuke's status as a jackass, he honestly seemed to care for the tiny girl. Even if he expressed it awkwardly, haltingly, and only in rare, private moments, his thoughts revealed much more to the beautiful blonde, even if she had to ignore some of the more perverted thoughts that had come unbidden into his mind whenever Sakura did something. Though she had made a few mental notes for her to pass on to Shika when she next saw him, of things she would never have thought of.

She didn't feel bad about taking ideas from Sasuke, and it wasn't like she was planning on telling him about her (practically nonexistent) sex life any time soon.  
She glanced at Naruto and Hinata out of the corner of her eyes, and she held back the urge to squeal like a little girl at the image. Whether the other blonde knew it or not, his hand had been unconsciously rubbing the lilac-haired girl's back in small, soothing circles as he stared out at the cars that were flying by. Judging by his thoughts, which were loud and easy to read, he was enjoying the car ride immensely, and having the petite Hinata sitting on his lap just made it better for him. Ino allowed a nostalgic smile to curve her lips. Naruto would be good for Hinata, while the relationship lasted, unless the lilac-haired girl decided after all to tell him, and then he wound up turned.

One quick glance at the content Sakura, Ino could already tell that she was planning on remaining with Sasuke forever, if he would have her. Which, judging by his current thoughts, he would be more than willing to do. It had taken two weeks of Sakura's subtle flirting in order for him to realize that he liked her back, but it had paid off in the end. She had never seen her older sister look so happy, despite what Neji thought would wind up happening between the two of them.  
They continued to listen to the album in silence on the way to the mall before they pulled into the vast parking lot, and Tenten swerved expertly into an empty parking place close to the southern doors. "Sh-should we worry abo-about someone finding out we're ditching?" Hinata asked shyly from Naruto's side. Sakura looped her arms through Ino's affectionately, before twisting lithely to smile at her nervous younger sister.

"Nah. We can always lie." The rosette answered blithely.

"Or dazzle their socks off." Ino tacked on with a mischievious grin.

"True." Sakura agreed, as the pair led the others through the glass doors and into the cool air-conditioning. "Now where to first?" She asked, as they all crowded around immediately inside the doors.

"One of the department stories, so Hinata and I can look at dresses." Ino offered, before earning several immediate 'no's.

"How about we just wander until something catches our eye." Tenten put in patiently, used to being the peacekeeper by now. After deciding that it was indeed the best course of action, they chose a direction randomly and started walking. The beautiful Hatakes often got looks, but upon seeing the irritated Uchiha and challenging Uzumaki, they departed without actually saying anything to the girls. After trickling down to the bottom floor, Sakura suddenly grabbed Sasuke's arm and wrenched him into a photo booth.

"That's attached to me, you know." Sasuke muttered darkly under his breath, rubbing at the now sore socket with his free hand. Sakura ignored him, already putting in the required amount of money, before turning to her boyfriend.

"I don't care. Now smile, or do whatever the hell you can do, Uchiha." She retorted with an eye roll, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders in order to plant a kiss on the side of his nose. He blamed the unusual spot as a result of Sakura's quirkiness, and instead smirked at the rapidly blinking light which signaled them where to look. Sakura spent more time arranging herself than he did, as in the next picture, she had one leg thrown over his lap and was ravishing his mouth with her own, and then proceeded to force him to do various other poses.

A few minutes later, they got out and the eager pinkette retrieved the picture. "Were you emotionally stunted as a child or something? I swear, the only thing I can get out of you is a smirk." The rosette commented blithely, before tearing the strip of photos in half and handing one of the two halves to her boyfriend. "Here you are. Try not to burn it or anything, alright?" Her tone was teasing, and without waiting for a response, she began yanking him in the direction that her friend and family had disappeared off to.  
_  
Pushy, much?_ Sasuke thought sardonically to himself, though he didn't mention one word of his thoughts to the oblivious woman in front of him. He allowed himself to be pulled in one direction, not hesitating to shoot murderous looks to people who gazed a bit too long or a bit too low for his tastes. "Hey, we're back everyone!" Sakura proclaimed to their party after having located them in a department store. Apparently Naruto and Tenten had been overwhelmed by the long-haired blonde, not that Sakura could blame them any. Ino was one pushy person, and it took someone with a lot of patience to be able to handle her. God praise Shikamaru.

Ino looked up from discussing a dress with Hinata in hushed voices, and grinned at her best friend before waving her over. The salesman with them, his face littered with bad skin and greasy hair, also looked up, his eyes widening at the stunningly beautiful pink-haired girl approaching them. However, one look at the malevolent Uchiha glaring viciously at him over the top of her head, and any thoughts of asking her out disappeared from his greasy head immediately. Ino raised a blonde eyebrow as the salesman hurriedly excused himself, a knowing grin curling her lips upward as she skimmed the thoughts in his mind briefly. "I doubt that was really necessary, Sasuke." The blonde remarked casually, earning a brusque grunt from the young Uchiha. Utterly mystified, Sakura merely blinked before turning to look up at her taller counterpart with a silent question in her eyes, which he promptly ignored. "Anyways, Forehead. Look at this dress." Ino immediately latched onto her friend's arms, dragging the unwilling pinkette forward a few steps.

"Ino-pig, I _said _Sasuke and I weren't going." The rosette protested, resisting. Ino waved a hand dismissively.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. But this dress just screams for you to buy it." The blonde urged, removing the dress from the rack and holding it out for her friend to examine. Which Sakura did quickly, admitting grudgingly that it was a pretty dress. It was a halter–styled dress, and forest green. It was made of a satiny material, and a quick whiff told her that it was indeed satin. The cool material slipped through her finger easily. It dipped teasingly, letting her know that she wouldn't be able to wear a bra with it. It had a formfitting skirt. "Go try it on." Ino shoved the dress into her friend's hands before turning her around and nudging her in the direction of the dressing rooms. Sakura did so grudgingly, holding the dress gently.

A few minutes later, she came back out in the dress, looking embarrassed. Sasuke could practically feel his heartbeat rise at the sight of her. The dress clung to her curves softly, and dipped into her cleavage just enough to pique his interest. It was floor length, and her toes peeked through the fabric whenever she took a step. The dark emerald color complimented her pink hair and golden eyes nicely, while sharply contrasting with her snow-white skin. Ino clapped her hands eagerly, before gesturing for her friend to turn around, which Sakura did hesitantly. The other side of the dress showed off a lot of skin, only covering just below the small of her back. "Forehead-chan, it's you! Buy it!" Ino gushed, causing her friend to look even more flustered as she averted her eyes to look at Sasuke. The look in his dark eyes caused her lower muscles to tighten in anticipation before looking away.

"What would I wear it to?" The rosette protested feebly, already trying to make her way back to the dressing room, though Tenten intercepted her with a slightly apologetic smile.

"Sasuke, what do you think?" Ino avoided the question, turning to Sakura's boyfriend with a quirked eyebrow. He stared at her stonily for a moment, before flicking back to the nervous Sakura. She looked at him warily, silently daring him to say something snarky.

"Hn. Buy it. You never know when you might need it." He answered finally, avoiding her gaze. Deciding to take it as a compliment, Sakura ducked back into the dressing room, and emerged a few minutes later with the dress in hand.

"Fine. I'll buy it." She decided grimly. Ino laughed, and cheered before ushering her friend to the cashier station. Sasuke stood there awkwardly, watching the cashier studying him intently, as he all but fell on himself checking her out. Though he took a while with her dress.  
_  
Damn, she's hot. Too bad about her stalker back there; Maybe I'll ask her out anyways... Nah, she'd never be interested in me. Plus, with those doe eyes she was flashing him, I'd never stand a chance. _Ino bit back a snort at the cashier's thoughts on her dress, pausing at the 'doe eyes' part briefly. It had only been a quick flash; the cashier had sharp eyes. The blonde doubted that even Sakura realized what she had done, and Sasuke sure as hell didn't. She nudged Sakura in the ribs, and hissed in a voice too low for humans to hear, "Smile at him. Sasuke's already brimming with jealousy." Sakura immediately agreed, and made sure to flash the smitten cashier a beautiful smile, and the cashier's jaw went slack almost immediately. "Nice."

Ino flashed the cashier a brief smile, before they joined their friends. True enough, Sasuke was scowling and pointedly looking anywhere but at Sakura. Sakura had a grin at his obvious jealousy, and immediately crossed over to stand directly in front of him. "Don't worry. You're the only one I want." She whispered, before kissing him daintily on the lips. Naruto groaned.

"Save it for the bedroom, you two." He told them in disgust with a cheesy grin, earning an Uchiha Glare in response, which he promptly ignored. Ino rolled her eyes, and immediately herded everyone out of the store and back into the main part of the hallway, before inquiring where they should go next. Once again, they decided to wander aimlessly, while Sakura carried her dress, which had been kept on the hanger, and now had a protective cover over it. She had half-expected Sasuke to offer to take her dress, but he did no such thing and didn't seem likely to change his mind any time soon. Damn.

Naruto proceeded to drag everyone into a music store, and they split up to find their individual tastes. Sakura wandered through the Rock section, before moving on to the classical section. Sasuke had departed over through the DVD section, seeing if any good horror movies had come out that he wasn't aware of.. He stayed away from any vampire movies, as he seriously doubted that any of them were anywhere near being accurate, even if he had never seen them before. Especially since real-life vampires seemed to be more of a dream, than a nightmare. After seeing nothing that interested him, he heard Naruto calling him, sounding rather urgent, and he followed the voice curiously.

The spiky-haired blonde was standing in front of a few racks attached to the wall, and immediately made room for his best friend to have a look. Sasuke immediately groaned as he figured out what the dobe had been examining keenly.

It was several different types of porn.

"Looks good, huh?" Naruto asked him, grinning.

Sasuke looked at him blankly. "Dobe, just because you happen to be a virgin, doesn't mean the rest of us are." He answered flatly, before turning around and walking off, ignoring Naruto's call of "bite me, you bastard!"

Sakura appeared at his elbow suddenly, and Sasuke didn't even flinch, as he continued to skim the various titles of decent movies. "What was that about?" She asked curiously, and Sasuke glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Naruto's being an idiot."

"As always." She tacked on with a grin, earning a semi-smirk from her boyfriend as he nodded in agreement. "Find anything good?" She asked, changing the topic off of the blonde easily. The Uchiha shook his spiky head, and continued to skim. "Well, what about this?" She plucked a movie off of the shelves and held it out to him. The title read 'I Am Legend.' The raven-haired male studied the title for a moment, before shrugging. "I'll take that as a yes." She held the movie in her hand, and smiled innocently up at Sasuke, who just looked at her impatiently for a moment before sighing and looking away.

"Mind telling me the real reason you decided we're ditching? I don't remember discussing the matter at all." Sasuke asked her after a moment's pause. Sakura smiled wryly; having expected him to figure everything out and then ask.

"Neji found out that they're blood-typing in Science, and let the rest of us know during his next class." She explained as an answer. Sasuke winced at the thought, but nodded in understanding, mute. "And naturally, wherever I go, you go." She grinned mischievously at him. Now he just lifted an eyebrow, and didn't respond. "I'm joking, you oaf." She rolled her eyes. "Now, I admit, Naruto tagging along was unexpected, but not too difficult, I suppose. Even if the school does manage to figure out that we were ditching, I doubt they're going to do anything to the perfect-GPA Hatakes, or the damn-near-perfect Uchiha."

"Good point." He allowed hesitantly, his expression softening slightly as he turned to look at her briefly. Under his intense scrutiny, Sakura immediately felt nervous, and turned around to avoid his dark gaze. "Find anything else you like that we could watch?" Sasuke asked awkwardly, watching as the rosette spun around with a broad grin.

"Uchiha Sasuke, are you asking me out?" She asked delightedly, and after a moment he nodded reluctantly. "Well, that means that we'll need lots of food, for you of course, and at least another two movies." The rosette started on her way to the snack aisle, and Sasuke followed her, confused.

"Why two movies?" he objected.

"Because we're going to make a day out of this." She explained as if she was talking to a two year old. He didn't feel offended by her slightly condescending tone; if anything, he was amused by the fact that such a tiny girl would dare to use it on someone several inches taller than her, even if she was stronger than he could ever hope of being. "You go pick out the movies, I'll get the food. Nothing too sweet, I promise." She shooed him away, getting annoyed with his ridiculous hovering. Grudgingly, he went back to the movies and grabbed two at random. One was titled 'You Don't Mess with the Zohan' and the other was 'House of Wax." He figured that he at least deserved one horror movie in which an annoying celebrity dies.

Minutes later, they were checking out, and they all met up outside of the store. "C'mon, everyone. Let's continue our 'journey.'" Tenten's voice was falsely cheery and full of sarcasm. With a few chuckles, the group split up to examine the mall from top to bottom.

* * *

So, um, yeah.

Almost no point to this chapter, other than the luffly fluff/lemon that I threw in there.

Make sure you tell me what you think about the lemon. My beta thought it was amazing, but she's biased and apparently something of a prude. (Kidding, Kidding, my dear beta. Kinda.)

And it got really cheesy at the the end, though I had realized that the other characters (Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Tenten, etc etc) had kinda taken a back, back seat (if that makes any sense) and I really wanted to have them in here, and this was the only thing I could think of. Blame the fact that I was writing this for like three or four hours before it was finished. That can take a lot out of a girl.

Is there another reason that vampires would have to ditch class, other than bloodtyping? I really didn't want to use the bloodtyping again (Again, staying away from Twilight), but I couldn't think of any to save my life. So, in the end, I wound up going with the stupid bloodtyping. Damnit.

**Reviewer Replies**:

_CelestialMaidenofSilence_: Off-topic, but did you realize that YOU were my fiftieth reviewer? Well, you were. You made my freaking week. -confetti and ballons fall to the ground out of nowhere- Aw, you didn't like ten as much as the others? I'm sorry, but at least you saw what I meant. I hated it. This chapter is a bit better, though I admit it does get rather...cheesy and corny towards the end, which annoyed me, but oh well. They can't all be winners. Damn, yeah. Sasuke's POV is ridiculously difficult to do, and I'm too big of chicken to try and do it with the fear of totally butchering his personality or something. BUT! I shall conquer this fear and try to make him seem more realistic from now on. Did I do better this time around? Please say yes. -bambi eyes- You don't think TemaSai would be too weird or something? Oh, that's good. Yeah, I can kinda imagine them being together. Especially since if he ever mouths off to her, she'd just beat the crap out of him with that fan of her's. Hah hah.

_Animeguurl_: Wow, you kept re-reading this story? Thanks! That makes me ridiculously happy. XP I also saw that you put a quote from this story on your profile (well more like my beta saw it and told me...), thanks! You must really like this story. You like 3 Days Grace? Hey, me too! I prefer MCR more, because they own my heart, but 3DG is a close...fourth. I think. No wait, fifth! First is MCR, followed by HIM, then the Rasmus, and finally the 69 Eyes. I really like Finnish music, as you can tell. Hah hah. Well, I hope you keep reading this story, and like it!

_IDontNeedToReply_: Manly Pants of Manliness...? ..._Wow. _I think that's all I can saw for the moment. Wow. Ah, I see your point. I didn't even realize that I was making her so... masculine. But oh well. She'll stay that way, because I like her that way. And the fact that I based her off of my own personality...kinda. Crude music is the best dude! I am not afraid to listen to Sublime's 'Caress Me Down' while my two year old cousin is in the room. But blame my uncle...it was his mp3. lol. Panic at the Disco? Not really. I used to, a friend of mine got me into them, but now I think their an embarrassment to music (THEY ARE NOT EVEN ROCK! NO MATTER WHAT THEY SAY, OR WHO THEIR (totally awesome) INFLUENCES ARE!) Yeah, okay. I'm sorry. It's kinda sore topic for me. The thing is, with me, I'm under the impression that if the prep stores, American Eagle or one of those kinda of stores, play those songs, then they can't be rock music. -nod- I actually told a friend of mine that if I ever wanted to go into one of the stores willingly, then she would be allowed to slap me and I wouldn't fight her back. And she holds me to that. Sunshine eyes? Hmmm...interesting. That'd be fun to write a story about that or something... Reflexes of a dead cat? Wow. My friends tell me I actually have pretty good reflexes. lol. Oh yeah, you know. Sakura's ability at work! Um, this is one kind of crying face: T.T. I prefer to use that one. Oh, she's very forward. but that's we love her. Anko's amazing. I love her. In a totally platonic kinda way of course. a psychologist in France? Wow. I don't quite know what I want to be. I was considering a doctor, then a nurse, then back to a doctor. I don't know yet. XP. I do know that I want to travel. I'm looking for the SakuxKarin confrontation. It'll be fun. I know how to play poker! I've only played a few times, and never for real money, but its actually rather fun. lol. Teddy bears are hot? Wow. Creepy, much? lol. I have no response to the Chuck E. Cheese/Spider/Cookies part. No response at all.

_Kingdom-Hearts-Angel_: The lemon is here! Bwuhahaha! And thanks. I liked like...the last line. I think that was it. Nothing more. lol.

_Affectionate_: It keeps getting better and better? Hee hee hee. That's makes me happy. And yes, there is a lemon. Pah, you don't need to apologize to me. SasuSaku lemons are the sex (pun intended.) Even written by crappy authors, they're good. Weird huh? Oh well. I'm your hero?! Oh hell yes!

_ladyDV011_: Ze lemon is here. Wow, I'm really glad that I put up that last reminder in bold. lol. Perverts are fun, no worries. They make everything sound perverted. Which is always fun. Therefore: perverts is a fun. Hah hah


	12. Spica

Ugh. So short.

Not much to add.

Has been beta'd. And refer to one of my former chapters for the disclaimer if you must. I'm not putting it up.

And yay for NejiSakuShika bonding!

* * *

"Like this?"

Sasuke studied the rough picture currently propped up on Sakura's lap and gave a short nod. "His jaw is a little sharper." He told her gruffly, uncomfortable with the topic of discussing his despised brother. Nodding contemplatively, Sakura quickly erased the former line before drawing in the next one. Sasuke examined the picture keenly. "Better." He allowed grudgingly, and she beamed, looking surprisingly shy. He suddenly recalled that Sakura had a tendency to be rather hesitant about showing off her art works, and his eyes warmed fractionally at the thought. Sakura evidently noticed this, and immediately began to look flustered.

Sakura turned her attention to the drawing in her lap, making sure to memorize the face just in case Ino happened to be peering into her thoughts. The final drawing was of a boy of about thirteen, with a sharp jaw, a little blade of a nose, high, aristocratic cheekbones with twin, mysterious lines running diagonal to his nose. His eyes were exotically slanted, much like those of Sasuke's, and flinty hard. Unlike Sasuke's spiky blue-black hair, Itachi's hair was glossy and long, and pulled away from his face in a low ponytail, except for two thick pieces of hair that hung down to his cheekbones. Sasuke had told her to make sure that his face was trained into an unreadable expression.

She could easily see the similarities between the boy in the picture and the man sitting across from her. They both had rather patrician features, with almost feline eyes surrounded by femininely long, thick, black eyelashes. They had the same narrow lips, and structured jaw line. She had to admit: Itachi _was _rather pretty.

Just not as pretty as her Sasuke.

"I'll see if I can make copies of it for everyone here in case they decide to go hunting and stumble across him." Sakura told him, as she flipped her drawing closed carefully and stowed it safely in the bag at her feet. Sasuke nodded, watching Sakura as she brushed the bits of rubber off of her lap, and glanced out of the window briefly.

"Sakura?" Sasuke began hesitantly. She hummed a response, her position shifting to face him once more as she tucked her long, bare legs up against her chest. She rested her chin on her knees, and smiled gently at him. "Can I join you?" He sounded very much unlike himself, and he grimaced openly at the realization.

"I believe we've already done that, Sasuke." Sakura told him with a laugh, eyeing him speculatively. Sasuke felt a dull flush creeping up his neck and blossoming lightly over his nose and cheekbones at her not-so-subtle dig. Sakura's keen eyes spotted this, and she couldn't fight back her grin at the dull blush that was a stark contrast to his normally pale skin. His blushes were so incredibly rare, but so endearing at the same time.

"I mean, can I join with you?" He fumbled through a correction, before immediately realizing that it was no better. If anything, it was worse. This time, thankfully, Sakura made no subtle dig, and instead watched him with flickers of amusement evident in her tawny eyes.

Damnit, why couldn't Naruto be there? The idiot blonde was better than anyone at saying what he thought.

"You're asking if you can become a vampire." Sakura prompted gently after a few minutes of awkward silence. Secretly thankful that he no longer had to fumble towards the correct question, Sasuke hurried to nod in agreement. This time, he couldn't help but note that there was no trace of sadness in her voice, only quiet deliberation. "Why?"

Sasuke didn't even pause, "Because I want to be with you forever." And immediately began mentally kicking himself for such a stupid, cheesy line. Now Sakura looked like she was trying to fight back a grin and doing a terrible job at it, as her full lips twitched.

"Forever can be a long time, Sasuke. Moving every few years, constantly changing names, living in a constant state of lies, never being able to truly interact with humans ever again… it's not easy. Besides, you'd never be able to have children, which is something I know I would have wanted." She merely remarked, that quiet note of contemplation still present in her lilting voice. "And won't you miss your best friend?" He openly grimaced when she threw Naruto into the mix, though he didn't see any note of triumph in Sakura's golden eyes. She hadn't been trying to dissuade him, but had merely been pointing out the things he would miss. "Or your other friends, for that matter. I know you're not particularly close to them like you are to Naruto, but wouldn't you still miss them?"

Sasuke attempted to avoid the question of his other friends, taking the easy way out instead. "What if Naruto were to come with us? He and that shy girl-"

"Hinata." Sakura interrupted with a blatant eye roll, now sounding faintly exasperated.

"- Have been spending an obscene amount of time together. I think he fancies himself in love with her." The Uchiha continued stubbornly, as if she hadn't even spoken.

"Fancies? Who uses that word in normal conversations anymore?" Sakura snickered momentarily before becoming somber once more. "Are you in love with me, Sasuke?"

He stiffened, startled by the unexpected question. Instead, he decided to turn chicken and avoided the question all together. "It's not like I have any family left who would miss me, and my other friends would eventually get over me. As you said, we're not very close." He explained, before pausing briefly. "And I think I could handle having no kids." He tacked on. "And as I told you, I want to avenge my family's death. Which would be rather difficult if my brother's a… one of you and I'm not. Especially since I wouldn't want any help."

"Sasuke, you really don't seem to get how becoming a _vampire _works." Sakura clucked her tongue, putting special emphasis on the word 'vampire', as the Uchiha found himself unable to pronounce the word for reasons that eluded her. "It's not how Hollywood depicts it, in which you're magically turned in the blink of an eye, and then you're in complete control of yourself. Instead, the process of becoming Immortal is a long process, as the venom travels around your body, vamp-ifying everything it touches for an average of three days. And then, when you are finally past the mind-blowing agony, you wake up with heightened senses that you had no warning for, and then you are an _animal_. The only thought in your head is an overwhelming, almost painful urge to feed. You don't recognize friend from foe, lover from strangers. If you can smell the blood pumping in their veins, you will attack in a blind fury until every last drop is drained.

"You will be in a constant state of thirst for several years, before it finally wears down and you can begin gaining control of yourself and build up your stamina." Sakura explained, her voice turning harsh. It took all he had not to flinch at the acidic tone of voice, which was very unfitting for the petite vampire in front of him. As if sensing his discomfort, she smiled and relaxed slowly. "But nevertheless, even if I were to turn you right here and now, you would still be in no shape to take down your brother when we find him. Your best bet would be to allow us to handle him. We have more experience, and with all of us combined, he won't stand a chance." She flashed him the crooked smile that he loved so much, belying her serious words..

"Don't underestimate my brother, Sakura." Sasuke warned. "He was extremely talented, even for a human, and we can only assume that his skills have gotten better since he was turned." She waved off his warning airily, and he refrained from trying to impress upon her why she should expect the worse, no matter how lucky she was.

"But back to our original topic. Hinata's already decided to keep Naruto as a human, and to not tell him about her true nature." Sakura informed him more seriously. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow smugly.

"But was that before or after she really started to date him? The dobe can't seem to shut up about her. And he's as flighty as Romeo." Sasuke pointed out logically. Sakura paused, considering, before immediately becoming affronted.

"Hey, don't diss Romeo!" She exclaimed.

"Why not? He's as flighty as they come. He goes from being madly in love with one woman, to seeing another and deciding that he's desperately in love with her, enough to die for her." Sasuke argued in his normal flat voice.

"I suppose you have a point." The pink-haired vampire admitted reluctantly with a slight smirk on, deciding to ignore the fact that the Uchiha was willing to do pretty much the same thing for her. "I don't ever have to worry about you doing that, do I?" She returned easily to her teasing voice, and Sasuke quickly decided that he preferred the light-hearted Sakura instead of the somber one.

"Hn." He neglected to mention that she was probably the only woman that would ever dare mouth off to him as she did on a regular basis, and not to mention the only one who could stand him for as long as she had. And that she was the only person who had captured his interest so thoroughly.

"I'll make you a deal, Sasuke." His ears perked up at the words, and he looked at her sharply. "I won't turn you now. Instead, you'll allow me to tell you everything I know about being one of us, and this includes me asking my family, as I know that I don't know everything, and then I'll _consider _turning you. Did you hear that? I said _consider. _Remember that." She offered up. Sensing that this was the best offer he was going to get, Sasuke agreed grudgingly with a harsh grunt, and Sakura merely smiled, taking no offense. Sakura got to her feet and stretched lithely. Sasuke's attention was suddenly directed to the band of soft, sparkling skin that was revealed by Sakura's hiked-up shirt.

"Like what you see?" He was startled out of his revelation by the Hatake's amused voice, and he didn't answer as he got to his feet and followed her out of her sunny room. "By the way, I'm going hunting with Shika and Neji tonight and will be gone a few days. Don't miss me too much." Sakura informed him blithely with a teasing grin, and Sasuke merely nodded, distracted.

The rosette opened the door, and he brushed past her with his dark eyes held speculatively on her face. She doubted he would kiss her, as he was incredibly awkward with showing affection in front of people, unless he was attempting to show his claim on her after his jealousy had been poked and prodded at. She spoke up when he had his foot on the first doorstep, "Hey, Sasuke?" He twisted slightly to look at her. "I love you too." And then she vanished, with a small thump of the door closing. Slowly blinking, Sasuke smothered the nearly overwhelming urge to rush back in and kiss her stupid.

However, being Sasuke, he did no such thing, and instead walked over to his beat-up piece of crap car and got in slowly before driving away.

* * *

"So you like him that much, do you?"

Sakura sat back in a tree calmly to watch as Shikamaru steadied himself into an instinctive hunting crouch to maul a large, rather irritated grizzly bear. "Yes, Shika. I do." She responded vaguely, her own eyes a light gold now, and her hunger reduced to only a low humming at the back of her mind for the time being.

"Have you decided about turning him?" Shikamaru grunted, for once acting not so lazy as he swiftly lunged at the massive bear, and began to grapple with it. As she watched, the lazy vampire's clothes wound up being shredded to mere tatters by the bear's sharp talons, which seemed to bounce off of his diamond-hard skin. Within moments, Shikamaru had pinned the panicked animal, and had buried his face against its throat.

"We discussed it." She admitted, nodding towards Neji who alighted next to her on the branch with a flip of his long, thick brown-black hair. Neji nodded in return, before his own butterscotch eyes flicked over to watch his grappling brother with only the barest hints of amusement deep within the golden depths. Sakura herself had her back pressed to the trunk of the tree, with her arms crossed in front of her chest and one leg propped up against her torso.

"Hasn't he had enough yet?" Neji muttered distinctly under his breath, and she didn't bother fighting back the grin on her face as her wide, golden eyes slid over to him, twinkling with amusement.

"I think he's just doing this one for the hell of it." She told him airily.

"Him, willingly to do something fun? Color me impressed."

"You know I can hear you two." Shikamaru butted in, as he stood up and dusted off the remains of his clothes. Not an ounce of blood was on him, unsurprisingly.

"If only Ino could see you now." Neji called down flatly, and Sakura grinned down at the thoroughly irritated vampire on the ground, who immediately shot them a rude sign.

"And besides, we weren't trying to hide the conversation." She volleyed back, smirking before standing up and scratching her head lazily. "Now, are we getting ready to start for home?" It had only been eighteen hours (and twenty one minutes, seventeen seconds) since she had last seen her lover, but already she was rather anxious to see him, and to make sure that he hadn't been arrested for killing Naruto.

Shikamaru leapt up to join them, smirking down at his older, shorter sister. "Ready to get home to your boy toy?" His tone oozed with dry sarcasm, which didn't go unnoticed.

"He's not my boy toy, you jackass." Sakura stuck her tongue out at him immaturely, and the lazy Hatake chuckled despite himself. Neji, too, seemed to have finally admitted that it was more than just a fling for both her and Sasuke, as he no longer stiffened at the mention of the Uchiha, nor did he make snide comments that _didn't _fly over Sakura's head, which always resulted in Sakura beating him severely with her superior strength.

But that still didn't mean he liked him.

"Yes, let's get going. If we're late, Ino may just start shrieking once more." Neji decided, smirking insufferably at Shikamaru, who began grumbling under his breath about his troublesome mate. It was a favorite thing of Neji's to mock the other Hatake about his loudmouthed counterpart, and Sakura always joined in, as she enjoyed teasing her favorite brother immensely. "And Sasuke may attempt to track us down himself." Neji added on after a moment, turning towards the tiny woman, who immediately looked flustered at the mention of her rather possessive, secret-worrier of a boyfriend/lover.

"Go die, Neji," She told him instead.

"You tell me to do that a lot." Neji noted dryly, and she snorted while rolling her eyes in a blatantly rude gesture, as she knew that Neji hated eye rolling with a fiery passion.

"Of course I do. You haven't done it yet. Maybe if I tell you to do it enough, you'll actually listen." She retorted playfully, as all three of the Hatakes leapt to the ground in a blindingly fast movement before beginning to sprint back home. Running would always be a surreal experience for the rosette. The feel of the cold wind snapping sharply against her skin, the ability to see for miles and miles despite their blindingly fast running; it was unreal.

"Go lie in a ditch, Billboard Brow."

"Only if you join me, Nejika." She added on her nickname for him smugly, and was rewarded by a vicious scowl, though he was silent for the time being. The would-be feminine name derived from a particular confrontation involving a nude Neji, a bathhouse for gay, rather horny men, and her switching his men's kimono for a woman's when he hadn't been paying attention. In an effort to keep the gay men from fondling him, he had hurriedly slipped on the woman's kimono, and only then realized what she had done after she was able to score some pictures of him in said kimono. Of course, that lead to a conversation dealing with the fact that Neji made a better girl than her, and why his hair was prettier. And then she attempted to scalp him in an effort to take said pretty hair for herself. And then, possibly try to sell it.

Ever since then, she called him 'Nejika' whenever she wanted to get on his nerves, as he despised the horrid nickname. Which only made her want to do it more, which she did. Despite all the bodily death threats that accompanied it every time she used it.

"Would you two shut up?" Shikamaru complained from Sakura's left. "Troublesome." Sakura merely sneered playfully at him, before thwacking him upside the head and darting away before he could react, laughing. Even Neji was forced into showing a half-assed smile at the cheerful rosette's actions, though he noticed the look on Shikamaru's face and made sure to edge away subtly so that Sakura wouldn't notice, hopefully.

She didn't, and the lazy Hatake took the opportunity to return her hit before seizing her light frame in his arms and hurling her several hundred yards in front of them, where she flipped out of it and landed easily on her feet, crouching, before leaping back towards them. "She's going to kill you for that." Neji remarked, half to himself, and Shikamaru let out a surprisingly roguish grin as an answer before lunging forward to meet Sakura in a flurry of parries, thrusts, and crude insults (courtesy of Sakura) that made Neji wince at their explicitness, though he opted to remain in the back where all the sane people were.

Which was none at the moment.

Yay.

Thankful, not for the first time, that they were the only would-be humans around, Neji glanced around furtively to make sure they were indeed alone, his clear vision shooting around him for several miles. "Cut it out, children." He reprimanded sharply, and they paused immediately, with Sakura sitting on Shikamaru's chest and attempting to strangle him with his own hair, which had fallen out of his characteristic pineapple-shaped ponytail in their tussle. "Don't you want to get back to your precious Ino, or your beloved Sasuke?" His voice was now openly sarcastic, and the other two vampires traded a glance before simultaneously sticking their tongues out at him childishly.

"Oh yeah? What about your _adored Tenten_?" Sakura snipped back snidely, with Shikamaru nodding in agreement. Now, Neji was the one looking embarrassed, and he didn't reply. "Thought so." She concluded smugly, as she clambered off of the lazy Hatake and helped him up with one hand. Neither one of them took offense toward the other, as they knew the tussle was more for fun than anything else. With Sakura having beaten Neji back into his place, the three whirled around in a graceful motion before beginning to race back in the direction of their home (and their respective loves).

* * *

It had only been three days since he had seen Sakura, and he was going mad.

Evidently everyone noticed his edginess and his sharper-than-normal responses, and they all made a concentrated effort to either not include him in their conversations (which he was fine with) or attempting to not ruffle his feathers (which he was also fine with. As long as they didn't try to talk to him.)

It didn't help that Naruto seemed to be spending all of his free time with Hinata, and now even the person on whom he took out all of his frustrations was too busy for him to take said frustrations out on. Damn.

Sasuke stared uncomprehendingly at the notes written in a messy scrawl on the chalkboard in front of him. He was currently slumped in his desk, with his head resting on one crooked arm, and the other thrown carelessly over his desk. "So, I've heard that you've been a naughty boy while I was away. Didn't I tell you to behave while mommy was gone?" His head snapped up at the half-sarcastic voice so fast that the vertebrae in his neck cracked painfully, which he promptly grimaced at. Sakura stood next to him with a wide grin on her face, her eyes a light gold, a knapsack held carelessly over one shoulder with a hand.

She sat down next to him and placed her knapsack on the ground. She continued her reprimanding teasingly. "Does mommy have to punish you for not playing nicely with the other children?"

He smirked a languid, sexy smirk at her, and she found herself stunned into silence. "It would depend, 'mommy.' What kind of punishment do you have in mind?"

"Do-Do you have any ideas?" She stammered out, feeling mesmerized by the alluring smirk tilting his thin lips upward, as her mind turned to goo at the sight.

His voice dropped several notches as he leaned closer. Unconsciously, she leaned closer until she could feel his breath puffing delicately across the bridge of her nose. "Oh, I have lots of ideas. I doubt any of them are appropriate for a mommy to give her son, however." He practically purred out, and her mouth went dry at the husky innuendo, as she could only blink stupidly at him for several long moments. Feeling satisfied by the fact he had successfully driven Sakura into a dazed silence, Sasuke leaned back and allowed his smirk to become self-satisfied as he watched Sakura lean back into her chair, still blinking rapidly as she struggled to regain her wits.

Their quiet flirting was interrupted by the sight of several fangirls, who just happened to be the president and vice president of SAS, or the Sasuke Appreciation Society. They immediately sauntered up to the prone Uchiha, as the redhead ("Mrs. President") immediately cooed out, "Sasuke-kun." She leaned over to flash him a look down her shirt, and Sasuke continued to keep his eyes locked blandly onto her face, as if waiting for something. Sakura just leaned forward and rested her chin on the palm of her hand as she stared at her harassed-looking boyfriend. When he flashed her a half-pleading look, her grin merely grew, and she didn't do anything.

She didn't even seem bothered at the dirty looks being flashed at her in what they hoped was a discreet manner, as her grin merely grew larger and she relaxed back into her chair to watch the free show, as the two hopelessly enamored fangirls flirted blatantly with her boyfriend.

Finally, it was the teacher who broke them up, as Kurenai-sensei let out a low, conspicuous cough. Grudgingly, the two girls returned to their seats with one final loathing look at the lucky pinkette. "Some help you were." Sasuke muttered to her, looking significantly more harried than he had beforehand. She merely smiled beatifically at him, and didn't say anything. She could tell that he wasn't particularly irritated with her, for the time being, at least. They wound up not being able to talk again until lunch, where she offered to give him a lift home.

* * *

The two walked up the staircase to Sakura's house, with the rosette leading the way and allowing them inside the building easily before quickly closing the door behind her boyfriend. She bellowed out a greeting in her lyrical voice, earning only a few scattered replies. She frowned slightly as Ino flickered into sight next to her. "Hey, Ino-pig. What's going on?" The pink-haired vampire greeted her younger sister fondly, curious. Sasuke merely blinked in silence from next to the petite rosette, his curiosity secretly piqued.

The blonde didn't look pleased. "Kakashi, Anko, and I were all doing basic reconnaissance along the state's borders, and well..." Ino visibly hesitated, and Sakura rolled her eyes, telling the normally vivacious blonde to get on with it. Sasuke privately agreed. There wasn't much that the Hatakes hid from him, not anymore, and whenever they did decide to hide something from him, he knew that it would have to be bad.

"We think we might have seen Sasuke's brother." The blonde blurted out in a rush, watching as Sakura froze with her now-golden eyes wide, and Sasuke's face hardened, his black eyes becoming even flintier than normal. Ino was hardly surprised. Being a mind reader, she knew just how much Sasuke despised his _aniki_, though that seemed to have cooled off slightly after he had learned that his brother hadn't been in his right mind when he had slaughtered Sasuke's family. But she also knew that the urge to kill his brother with his own two hands hadn't faded as yet either.  
_  
Damn. So soon? This sucks. _Sakura's particular train of thought continued on with several more swear words that made Ino inwardly cringe. This was shortly followed by a few rather violent scenes involving how Itachi would die, even if a few of them were severely illogical for their kind.

"Do you _mind?_" The blonde hissed in a low voice. Sakura blinked owlishly at her for a moment, before grinning apologetically. Sasuke, from next to her, looked intrigued for a few seconds before seeming to remember who he was, and quickly regained his bastardly look of indifference. Or bastardness.

"Sorry, piggy." Sakura told her softly, still grinning. "Do you remember where it was that you saw him?"

Ino immediately looked scandalized. "Of course I do! It was on the eastern border, about twenty miles south of Canada's border." The blonde informed the rosette haughtily, and Sakura grinned roguishly before her expression turned contemplative.

"Okay. I want to get a look out there myself, so that way I can see if you guys missed something." The rose-haired girl mused, half to herself. Ino ignored the subtle insult, knowing that the shorter girl was just trying to rile her up.

"I'm coming" Sasuke butted in almost immediately, his tone flat and hard. Sakura looked at him out of the corner of her eye, noting his tense jaw and the subtle tightening around his almost oval eyes. He was _pissed.  
_  
"I'm not driving there, Sasuke." She told him exasperatedly. "I'm going to be running. It's quicker, and it takes less time. Unless you want me to carry you, as demeaning to your masculine pride as it is, then fine, but otherwise, you're staying here." She had briefly considered refusing to take him alone, but she also knew that it would be a futile effort, and she would just be saving herself a headache.

"Fine. I'm coming." Sasuke repeated stubbornly, and she immediately knew how much Sasuke despised his _aniki_, if he was willing to let himself get carried by a girl almost a foot shorter than him (Well, even just a _girl _in general, for that matter.) She shrugged before turning back to the obviously amused blonde before her.  
"How long did it take you guys to get there?" Sakura asked, looking serious for once.

Ino made some brief mental calculations. "About an hour. But we weren't going as fast as we normally do. For you, it'd obviously take less time, even with your added burden." The blonde told her, knowing that while Sakura wasn't the fastest of them all, she had a way of making herself seem faster when the time called for it. Sakura ignored the jibe, her tawny eyes focusing expectantly on the ruggedly handsome male who just sauntered into the conversation, evidently having been listening.

"Troublesome. I don't want you to go alone." Shikamaru told his favorite sister sternly, earning an impish grin in return, though a knowing gleam was in her eyes.

"The chances of Itachi being there now are almost nonexistent, Shika." Sakura responded smoothly, letting him know that she had expected this. "And if he is, I'll flee back here."

"What if he's faster than you?" Shikamaru pointed out gruffly, crossing his arms in front of his broad chest stubbornly. Sakura lifted an eyebrow at him sardonically.

"Please. Ms. Luck, remember? And anyways, he may be faster than me, but I have more experience." She retorted stubbornly, pointedly looking at him.

"But you'll have Sasuke with you," Shikamaru shot the slightly shorter man a brief look, as if to say, 'No offense.' Sasuke didn't take any, his own dark eyes locked on the bright, obviously entertained eyes of Sakura. Apparently, she enjoyed arguing with people. "He'll be a target instinctively, even if Itachi does recognize him, which he may not. Human memories are difficult to remember, Sakura." Shikamaru argued, for once not using his favorite phrase. "It doesn't matter how lucky you are."

"But I don't want to take anyone else." Sakura whined, sticking out her lower lip in a pout as she stared up at Shikamaru pleadingly. Then Sasuke realized what her game was: she wanted to get some alone time with him, away from her overprotective brother and mind-reader of a sister. A corner of his lips curled up in a slight smirk. _Tease.  
_  
"It doesn't matter, you troublesome woman. I'll go with you. Two are better than one." Shikamaru replied smoothly, an eyebrow quirking up in amusement at Sakura's antics despite himself. Sakura eyed him thoroughly for a moment, clearly coming up with an ulterior suggestion. Sasuke held no doubt in his mind that Sakura would indeed win this fight. Hell, she had won against him, and he had a strong tendency to be as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to be.

"Fine, you can come. But you have to remain at least twenty-five miles away from Twinkle Toes and I at all times. Unless we do indeed run into Itachi, and then you can do whatever the hell you want." She compromised easily, smirking up at him in a way very reminiscent of her current boyfriend.

"Ten."

"Twenty-three." She returned smoothly with a raised eyebrow and that annoying smirk still on.

"Ten."

"Twenty miles. Any closer, and I'll beat your skull in before we leave." Sakura mock-threatened him seriously. Shikamaru eyed her warily, but apparently decided to not try her. They both knew at twenty miles, he would still be able to come and save the day in his typical lazy fashion with no trouble at all.

"Done."

Sakura looked satisfied.. "Good." Then, blatantly ignoring Shikamaru's presence, she spun around to face the obviously amused Sasuke and flashed him a broad, lopsided smile.. "We won't be gone long, but it'll definitely be a while. " She told him, earning a nod. "Shika-kun, are you ready to leave?" Taking the brunette's muttered 'troublesome' as a yes, she grasped Sasuke's hand and began tugging the raven-haired man out the door. "Okay, the best way I can imagine us doing this is you on my back. If I carried you bridle-style, you'd hate it, and it would be very awkward if I were to suddenly veer. I could also sling you over my shoulder, but that would make it very awkward for me to see in whatever direction your ass is blocking. It's fine and everything, but yeah." She grinned up at him, and he just lifted an eyebrow in return.

"Too much information." Shikamaru called from behind him, and Sakura twisted around momentarily to stick her tongue out at him before turning around and continuing right where she left off.

"So, you on my back is the best solution. And yes, I know it's demeaning. Deal with it. That's partially why I wanted it to be just the two of us, to save your soon-to-be damaged pride. And I would let Shika carry you, but I don't think enough beatings in the world would get him to do that, no matter how much he thinks I'm awesome." She mock whispered behind her hand, and Sasuke refrained from rolling his eyes, though his eyes had warmed ever so fractionally at the realization that she was attempting to make this as little humiliating as possible even if he hadn't said anything yet.

"Hn." His tone was indifferent, giving nothing away, and she rolled her eyes at the monosyllable before going to stand in front of him and crouching down. Wordlessly, she portrayed her meaning and he understood it, warning her dryly, "I'm not all that light." At this she merely snorted, and rolled her eyes, waiting impatiently as he climbed on. She straightened easily, grasping his thighs in her hands.

"C'mon Shika. Let's get gone." Sakura called nonchalantly to her favorite brother, and Sasuke felt his ears burning as he distinctly heard the snickers coming from the other Hatake family members, who had come to see him off. He knew it made a ridiculous image: a broad-shouldered male on the back of a tiny, petite, doll-like girl, who showed no signs of having any troubles. Even Shikamaru, that traitorous bastard, had cracked a grin at the amusing scene. "Sasu-chan, you may want to tuck your head into my neck or something. Our running can get a bit overwhelming to some." Sakura warned wryly.

He was just about to retort that he, as an Uchiha, did _not _cower like a little girl, though the words died abruptly in his throat, as with no warning whatsoever, Sakura and Shikamaru started running. It didn't necessarily feel like running, what with the smooth gait of Sakura underneath him or the even breathing, but the sharp slap of wind made his eyes sting and dry uncomfortably, and it gave him the peculiar feeling of the wind attempting to knock him off of Sakura.  
_  
Okay, _he admitted wryly, _maybe I should have done as she recommended._

* * *

Okay, can anybody imagine the image of Sasuke on Sakura's back, hunched over? I could have made Shika carry him, and have them take the car, but the image was too funny to pass up.

Also. I'm planning on this story being somewhere between fifteen and twenty chapters, which means it's almost over. -sniff- BUT, I'm considering making a sequel. Dunno with school and everything, but I'm going to give it a shot. Hah hah.

Sorry, this is so late. My poor beta's been drowned by her schoolwork and her prick of a teacher, and I sent it to her several days ago, but she was so busy she had no time to beta. So give her a cookie, cuz she does an awesome job for being so busy.

Oh, and I changed my summary again. I kinda like this one.

Reviewer Replies:

_CelestialMaidenofSilence_: Midterms getting to ya, eh? No worries. I get it. And yeah, I mostly did eleven the way I did because I wanted to do something lighthearted and totally off-topic, as from here on out, I'm going to be focusing a lot on the plot. Which means, not a lot of funny. So yeah. -nod-

_mangamaniacgirl_: I'm staying away from Twilight?!? SCORE!! That's what I've been focusing on a lot, so hearing/reading that made me want to start dancing. But I won't, because I'm a horrible dancer. Seriously. I make that cliche 'dorky dad' dancing look cool. Hah hah. I love your review, it made me ridiculously pleased. And it made my self-esteem shoot through the roof. Like Wonka's glass elevator. Hah hah. I hope you keep reading!

_Kingdom-Hearts-Angel_: Not too graphic, eh? Goodie. I hate too graphic lemons. I mean, I like them as much as the next person (SasuSaku and ItaSaku mostly) but some of the lemons out there are enough to make me want to scrape out my eyes with a spork or something. You have magic abilities, too?!?! COOL!! I can...persuade people to join the dark side (who has brownies). Yeah. I'm awesome, aren't I? lol

_Laura-chan_: Ya wanna know what I figured out, like... ten minutes ago? You're THE Laura-chan. The one who writes all of those awesome, snuggly, SasuSaku stories. Me thinks that your Anthology story (Is that what its called? Yes) was the first M-rated SasuSaku story I ever read. But then I lost it before I could finish it, and REVIEW MY HEART OUT. I was so sad. And I could only remember one part of the name, and I kept thinking it was like 'Drabble Anthology' and then I would see a story with that title, and get all excited... and it wouldn't be it. I couldn't even remember who wrote it. I was so sad. :( BUT NOW! I've found it, and I shall REVIIIEEEW!!!! Yeah, okay, I'm done. Sorry. I just wanted you to know how amazingly awesome you heart. You own my liver. Seriously. But back to the topic: Yes, Sasuke shall continue to show affection in his own emotionally-constipated, bastardly way. I just hope I'm not making him OOC or anything. OOC Sasuke annoys me.

_I Am The Alter Ego_: Very creative what you did with your names. Very creative indeed. lol. And thank you, I agree: the-sex-that-should-have-been is dearly missed. Nnngh. Yeah, I know. I realized that afterwards. I went 'oh-shit, thye can go ahead and skip even if their is no blood-typing!' I felt like a fool. XP

Okay, that's all of them. There were other reviews, but most of their awesomeness was telling me about how awesome they think this story is, so I kinda saw no need in saying thank to each one of them when I could do this: THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

There.

Also: one final note. I'll put this in big, bold letters for everyone to see: **I'M CONSIDERING STOPPING DOING REVIEWER REPLIES. **

Mostly, because it does get a little old, and I swear my review amount for each chapter mounts. So I'm probably stopping this. For good. Yeah.

And for all of those who read _Seen the Unseen, _I'm going to try and get the next chapter out shortly!


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